Shadow Possession of the Heart
by shikamaru-please
Summary: ShikamaruxOC ; Plans to take over Konoha have alarmed the village.  Yuri and her team, along with other ninja teams, must travel to the forest to find and destroy the enemy.  This mission, however, appears to be a bit more challenging than she thought.
1. Chapter One: A Dream Come True

**Chapter One: A Dream Come True**

My shoes scuffed against the rocky path as I walked. The wind caressed my face as I looked toward the sky and breathed in the aroma of the summer grass and beautiful flowers. Birds chirped happily in the trees, and the leaves rustled together. It was a perfect day.

I passed a group of young children who were giggling as they played a game of tag. I smiled to myself, remembering the time when I was that young. I remembered how I had always dreamed of being a great ninja, and today that dream would come true. It was graduation day at the Academy, and I was confident in myself.

I met up with Miyuki, my best friend, on the way. We walked to the Academy together every day ever since we met the first day of our ninja training. We hit it off quickly, and now we are inseparable. People even joked that we must have been twins separated at birth. "Yuri and Yuki" was what they call us.

"Hey Yuri!" Miyuki smiled. I waved back at her and we continued walking.

"Ready for the exam?" I asked, kicking a pebble out of my way.

She shrugged. "I don't know…"

I laughed and gave her an encouraging nudge. "Are you kidding? You're basically a prodigy! If it weren't for that _Sasuke _kid, you'd be at the top of the class!"

"Thanks, Yuri," she laughed, blushing at the mere mention of Sasuke, "you're not too shabby yourself!"

I made a remark about her obvious crush on the dark and mysterious Sasuke Uchiha, and she threatened to "beat me to a pulp." She chased me, laughing and waving her fists in the air, all the way to the Academy.

We took our seats in the middle of the room and conversed quietly as we waited for Iruka Sensei to begin the final exams. Naruto rushed in at the last minute, making a big scene just as he always did. As everyone else rolled their eyes at him in disgust, I laughed quietly to myself. "Oh, Naruto… you goofball…"

"Alright class!" Iruka Sensei made his way through the door, silencing every student in the room, "I will randomly call each of you into the next room, where you will each be tested on essential ninja skills. Should you pass, you will be given your own official Leaf Village headband and you will be able to leave. Should you fail… well… I guess I'll see you back here next year. Any last minute questions before the exam?"

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, "When are you gonna hurry up and start this thing?"

The students in the class groaned, embarrassed by the outburst of their fellow student, and Iruka Sensei narrowed his eyes in Naruto's direction. Naruto snickered.

"Alright," Iruka Sensei started, looking at a clipboard that he was carrying with him, "first up is Sakura Haruno."

Miyuki and I conversed quietly. My confidence was gradually being replaced with apprehension with each passing second spent in the classroom. Neither of us admitted our anxiety, but each of us knew quite well exactly what the other was feeling.

"Miyuki Sasaki, you're next."

"Good luck!" I whispered to my best friend as she stood up. She shot an appreciative smile in my direction before disappearing into the exam room.

I became more nervous once I was alone. I bounced my leg impatiently and fidgeted with the fire-red fringe that framed my face. My mind raced, wondering what I was going to be asked to do once I entered the next room. I bit my lip, my leg bouncing quicker and quicker, trying to keep my breathing under control. _Come on, Yuri, _I thought to myself, _you've got this stuff down. Whatever you're asked to do, you'll nail it!_

"Hey," I heard a calm, slightly raspy young voice whisper.

I looked up and noticed Shikamaru Nara, my fellow classmate, leaning back in his chair and gazing at me with half-opened black eyes. "Y-Yeah?" I asked.

"Could you control your legs a little? You're disrupting my nap."

I narrowed my eyes. _Ugh, leave it to Shikamaru-_

"Yuri Myoko, to the exam room."

My eyes darted toward Iruka Sensei standing in the doorway. I slowly rose out of my chair and made my way toward him. He must have sensed my nervousness because he smiled and patted my head reassuringly.

The room was large, and the only furniture occupying it was a large desk and three chairs, which seated Iruka and two other Senseis who, I guessed, would help proctor the exam. The door closed, echoing loudly throughout the room, and Iruka Sensei made his way to sit down at the desk. I lowered my head and closed my eyes in a last minute attempt to calm myself down. I took a few deep breaths before smiling confidently at the three ninja sitting before me.

"Hello, Yuri," Iruka Sensei started, "how are you today?"

"I'm fine," I said, trying to convince myself more than I was reporting to them.

"Alright," Iruka Sensei flipped a page on his clipboard, "the first thing I want you to do for us is the clone jutsu."

_Piece of cake! I've done this jutsu _thousands _of times! _"Yes, Sensei." I took a deep breath. I made the appropriate hand signs, focusing my chakra, and then smiled. "Clone jutsu!"

A puff of smoke appeared beside me, and when it cleared, it revealed a perfect clone of myself. Iruka Sensei and the others smiled and wrote some notes before continuing with the exam. "Excellent! Next, I would like you to perform a transformation jutsu."

"Yes Sensei," the clone I had created vanished as I prepared for the next technique. "What should I transform into?" _The transformation isn't my forte… but I can still do this!_

"The third Hokage."

Once again, I focused my chakra by performing the necessary hand seals for the transformation jutsu. I created a vision of the third Hokage in my mind, making sure to take in every little detail about his appearance. "Transform!" And in another puff of smoke, I became the third Hokage.

They scribbled some more notes, and when Iruka Sensei looked up and smiled at me, I took that as a signal to return to normal and prepare for the next task. "Your final test, Yuri, is a little more difficult."

My heart began to race. _More difficult?_

"I'm going to throw this kunai at you, and your test is to use the substitution jutsu to avoid the attack."

My jaw dropped in a combination of confusion and fear, causing the ninja to chuckle. "Don't worry," my sensei said, "it's a rubber kunai. It won't hurt if it hits you."

I relaxed a little, but maintained my guard. I didn't know when he was going to throw the kunai at me. Even though it was just a rubber kunai, I didn't want to get hit. I didn't want to fail.

While I awaited his attack, I frantically darted my eyes around the room for something to replace with myself. The room was so empty…

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Iruka Sensei stand, winding up to launch the weapon at me. I gasped; it was quickly approaching. I could not wait any longer to perform the jutsu. I fumbled with the hand seals, desperate to pass the exam. I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull it off, but I could feel my chakra concentrated within my body, and I flashed a confident smile before instantly appearing behind Iruka Sensei.

_Good thing Iruka Sensei stood up. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to replace myself with his desk chair!_

From behind the desk, I watched my replacement as the kunai hit it smack in the forehead, returning it to its original form. The ninja scribbled down their final thoughts as I made my way back to my place in the middle of the room. I gulped. _This is it… _

"Yuri Myoko,"

My gaze shot to my sensei, my heart pounding so hard that I could almost hear it.

"Congratulations! You've passed the exam!"

After hearing those words, I just couldn't control myself. I jumped up and down, throwing my arms into the air and screaming triumphantly. The ninja at the desk laughed at my outburst, but I didn't mind. I was finally a ninja, and I was going to celebrate my achievement no matter what.

Iruka Sensei approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down. I ceased jumping to allow him to tie my new headband around my forehead. "You are now a Genin," He explained, pulling the fabric into a knot underneath my spiky ponytail, "and with that title you have earned your official Leaf Village ninja headband!"

"Thank you Iruka Sensei!" I smiled uncontrollably as I raced out of the room. Before I closed the door, I bowed respectfully and waved goodbye.

Miyuki was waiting for me outside, and, not surprisingly, she was also wearing a headband. "You passed!" She cried, crashing into me for an excited hug.

I laughed, hugging back. "We're ninja!"


	2. Chapter Two: Training

Author's Note: Hello everyone! So I realize that the last chapter was nothing special, since it was just the Genin exam, but I promise the story will pick up. And, keep in mind, there is some sweet Shikamaru action as the story progresses. ;)

Now, without further ado, I present to you Chapter Two of Shadow Possession of the Heart.

**Chapter Two: Training**

I awoke the next morning with a smile. Dreaming of the day I passed my exam at the Academy five years ago never failed to put me in a good mood. I was so excited to become a ninja, and now I was a Chunin on an amazing squad with the greatest sensei I could have ever asked for. I sat up in my bed, stretching my arms and yawning before getting ready for the day.

I dressed in muted navy Capri shorts, a black t-shirt, and my green Chunin flak jacket. I combed my short, spiky red hair before putting it up into a ponytail. My bangs fell in my face, contrasting my vibrant emerald eyes. I tied my headband around my forehead, the metal plate gleaming against the light.

Once I had eaten and brushed my teeth, I strapped my pouch (stocked full of kunai and shuriken) around my right leg and made my way outside.

I met Miyuki at the training field. Even when Hiroshi Sensei (our team's leader) gave us the weekend off, Miyuki and I always managed to set aside a little training time. When I arrived, she was dangling upside down on a tree branch. Hiroshi Sensei was always amazed at her ability to control her chakra. I let out a small chuckle. "Wow, Yuki, you don't waste any time do you?"

"What do you mean?" She asked as she let herself gracefully return to earth.

"Showing off your amazing talents, of course!"

Miyuki was the type of person who understood everything right away. She didn't have to work hard to master a new jutsu or skill. Everything just sort of came to her. I was much different. I had to work hard. I could train for weeks on a new technique and Miyuki could have it mastered in half the time. I often stayed late at the training field after everyone else had gone home, just so I made sure I wasn't falling behind.

"You really think I'm that talented, Yuri?" Not to mention her modesty. Miyuki was basically perfect, and I couldn't help being completely jealous of her.

"Of course you are. Now, what should we do first?"

"Shuriken?" She suggested.

I smiled, pulling four shuriken out of my pouch. "Let's do it!"

We threw our weapons at the wooden training logs, spitting competitive remarks and insults at each other (jokingly, of course). We laughed, enjoying the warm sunshine on our smiling faces as we trained together.

Suddenly we heard a groan. We stopped throwing our weapons and listened, wondering where it had come from. It sounded close. I grabbed a kunai out of my bag, and Miyuki quickly followed my lead. "Who's there?" I asked.

From behind one of the training logs, Shikamaru appeared, yawning loudly and stretching his back. "Oh, hey guys," he mumbled.

"Shikamaru!" I shouted, throwing my kunai into the dirt.

Miyuki smiled and waved. "Hi there, Shikamaru."

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

Shikamaru leaned against the log, shoving his hands into his pockets and dropping his gaze to the ground. "Asuma Sensei, Ino, Choji, and I trained here last night. I just didn't feel like walking home. Fell asleep out here."

I rolled my eyes. _Typical Shikamaru. He's just as lazy as ever._ "Well Miyuki and I are training now. So unless you would like to volunteer as my training dummy-"

"Alright, alright," Shikamaru interjected, "I'm leaving." As he passed us, I heard him mutter under his breath the usual "What a drag," and "women are so troublesome."

Once he was out of sight, Miyuki turned to me and asked, "Why were you so mean to him? He probably just trained so hard that he couldn't walk home."

I scoffed, whipping a kunai at the wood, "He's so lazy! I can't even believe he made it to _Genin,_ let alone Chunin. He makes all of us look bad."

"I heard his fight with Temari at the Chunin exam was incredibly brilliant-"

"But he quit, Yuki! What kind of ninja quits while he's ahead? He should have finished her off. It's so irritating…"

Miyuki grinned. "You know…"

"What?"

"If I didn't know any better… I'd say that your insults are just an attempt to hide the fact that you _like _him."

I glared at her, pursing my lips. In a low, threatening voice, I answered, "Never."

We both laughed and continued our training.


	3. Chapter Three: A New Mission

Author's Note: Here's where things start to get interesting! Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Three: A New Mission**

When we had finished our training for the day, Miyuki and I headed to the Ramen Shop for some lunch. We ordered our food and began talking about previous missions, when we noticed Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura passing by. Naruto was begging his teammates to let him get some ramen, and they finally gave in and stopped.

Naruto sat down on one of the stools at the counter while Sasuke and Sakura leaned against the building. I nudged Miyuki, who was blushing furiously. "Hey, Yuki," I whispered, "There's _Saaasuke!_"

Somehow her face managed to burn an even darker shade of red. "Shut up, Yuri."

I laughed. "Oh come on… you should really talk to him."

"Are you kidding me?" She whispered, "There's no way he would like me…"

"Yuki, you're amazing. You're a very talented ninja, the nicest person I've ever met, and you're gorgeous." It was true. With her fair skin, dark chocolate hair, and big blue eyes, Miyuki had always been the prettiest girl at the academy.

Miyuki smiled. "Thanks, but I still don't think that Sasuke would be interested in me. Besides… Sakura's right there, and I know she likes him too…"

"Hey Sasuke!" I shouted. I was going to get Miyuki to talk to him whether she liked it or not.

He turned his head to face us, his big dark eyes meeting ours. I saw Sakura make a face as she crossed her arms over her chest, clearly annoyed by my interrupting her conversation with her crush.

"You know, Miyuki here is an extremely talented ninja. I bet she's even better than you!"

Sasuke seemed unfazed. Miyuki, however, was terrified. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned toward Sasuke. "No! No no no!" She stammered, "She didn't mean it, Sasuke, she just has a really big mouth." She glared and bared her teeth at me as she spoke that last part.

The corner of Sasuke's mouth tugged upward to form a slanted smile. "Believe me, I know about people with big mouths…" He motioned toward Naruto, who was stuffing his face with ramen. I laughed.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, "Come on, we've got to go! Kakashi Sensei is probably waiting for us!"

"Ahh he's probably 'lost on the path of life,' like he always is!" Naruto retorted, making air quotes and then crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest.

Before Naruto could ask for another helping of ramen, Sakura grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and dragged him away with her, mumbling angry remarks under her breath. Sasuke smirked, flashing Miyuki a look before saying, "See you, Miyuki."

Miyuki was frozen. The fact that Sasuke talked to her had probably overwhelmed her enough, but the fact that he also remembered her name was just too much for her. I snickered, wrapping my arm around her shoulders in a friendly manner. "See that, Yuki? Guys notice you when you actually _talk _to them."

"Shut up, Yuri." She couldn't fight the smile that was already forming on her face.

As we were finishing our meal, we stood up from our seats and prepared to go our separate ways when Katsu Ono, the third member of our team, nearly ran into us. His lips stretched into an excited grin and his brown eyes sparkled. "Hey guys!"

Miyuki and I rolled our eyes. Katsu was always very excitable. He and Naruto made very good friends goofing off at the Academy. "What's up, Katsu?" I asked.

"Hiroshi Sensei told me to find you. I think we're getting another mission! Come on, let's go!"

I was happy with the news. It had been a while since we had been assigned an actual mission, and, not to say that Hiroshi's training regimes weren't enjoyable, nothing beats the feeling of successfully completing a task that betters the people of Konoha. We sprinted through the village, following closely behind Katsu. He led us toward the forest. Hiroshi Sensei could be seen leaning against a tree at the entrance to the woods.

"Hello, everyone!" He greeted us as we approached him.

"Katsu tells us we have a new mission?" I said, hopeful.

Hiroshi Sensei laughed, adjusting his forehead protector under his short black bangs. "Well, that's not necessarily what I said…" My face fell, and Katsu groaned in disappointment, causing Hiroshi to grin, "But he's absolutely right."

Katsu, Miyuki, and I exchanged excited glances and high fives.

"Alright, alright," Hiroshi Sensei laughed, placing his hand on Katsu's shoulder in an attempt to keep him from dashing into the forest before he had even given us the details we would need. "The fifth Hokage has received numerous reports of suspicious activity that has been going on in this forest. She has requested that a few groups of Chunin figure out what's going on, and then report back to her."

"What kind of suspicious activity?" Miyuki inquired.

"She didn't say, but my guess is thievery or something like that."

Katsu sprinted up one of the trees, stopping to stand on a large branch. He tossed his unkempt blonde hair out of his face. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? Come on, let's go!"

The three of us nodded, following him up into the trees to begin our mission.

We quickly and skillfully traveled through the treetops, scoping the area below us. I didn't exactly know what I should have been looking for, but my guess was that anyone found lurking around in the forest was suspicious enough for me. Hardly anyone ever visited the forest.

Hours passed, and we had found nothing. Hiroshi suggested we take a little break, so the four of us stopped travelling and took a seat on a large tree branch. The orange tint to the trees and sky told me that the sun was setting, and it would soon be dark.

"Are you sure this is the right forest, Hiroshi Sensei?" Katsu demanded, seeming disappointed in the mission's lack of excitement.

"Don't be so impatient, Katsu," Hiroshi Sensei replied calmly, "You can't always expect to find what you're looking for right away." This caused Katsu to grumble in annoyance.

The four of us remained silent as we rested our bodies. The sky got darker and darker with every passing second, and the sound of chirping birds was gradually replaced by croaking frogs and the calling of night owls.

The snapping of twigs and the rustling of leaves on the ground beneath us broke the silence. Without making a sound, we peeked over the tree branches to investigate the noise. Two men, dressed in all black and with masks covering their faces, could be seen carrying two cardboard boxes. I tried to listen to what they were saying.

"We actually did it! Who knew stealing a bunch of Leaf Village headbands would be so _easy?_"

My eyes darted to Hiroshi Sensei, and, from the look on his face, I knew that he had heard.

"Why would they steal headbands?" Katsu whispered, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

Hiroshi Sensei explained, "It's so they can blend in with other Leaf Village shinobi. They want to get inside the village without anyone noticing that they're not supposed to be there. What they're planning to do once they're inside, I don't know… but whatever it is, we can't let them succeed."

Without missing a beat, we descended the trees to the ground. We quickly, but quietly, caught up to the thieves, traveling just a few feet behind them.

"Miyuki," Hiroshi whispered, keeping his eyes on the thieves, "I want you to cast the infinite darkness jutsu. Once the jutsu has taken effect, their sense of sight will be taken away from them, as if they were blind. Yuri and Katsu, that's when you charge in for an attack. They won't know what hit them."

Miyuki did as she was told. Within seconds, the two thieves ahead of us stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes wandering and their arms stretched out in front of them. "What the hell happened?" One of them shouted, "I can't see a thing!"

"Now! Attack!"

Katsu and I sprinted toward them to throw a few punches and kicks their way. They dropped the boxes and blindly fought back, hurling their fists in every direction in an attempt to block and/or hit us. Their cries of pain told us that our ambush was working.

One of the thieves got smart, however, and threw a series of about ten shuriken all around him. Miyuki had to disrupt her flow of chakra to dodge the flying weapon, causing her to break the genjutsu. "They can see! The shuriken broke my jutsu!" Miyuki shouted to inform us. Katsu and I quickly back flipped away from the thieves, keeping our distance before they could attack.

"Well, well," One of the thieves started, making his way closer to us, "they sent a group of ninja after us. However will we make it out of here alive?"

Sarcasm dripped from his words like venom. I clenched my fists, ready to fight and to make him regret underestimating my comrades and me. I pulled two kunai from my pouch and gripped them tightly in each of my hands.

"We haven't had much excitement today," The second thief said to the first, "Why don't we humor them and fight? Who knows… it might be interesting." With a devilish grin, he fell into a fighting stance.

"Alright," Agreed his friend, who put his fists up as well, "this should be fun."


	4. Chapter Four: The Battle Begins

**Chapter Four: The Battle Begins**

"You're going to regret that," I smirked, beginning to charge in for an attack.

"Yuri!" Miyuki shouted, worried.

My surroundings blurred around me as I picked up speed. I weaved from left to right, hoping to throw the thieves off guard a little, and when I was close enough, I jumped into the air and whipped the pair of kunai at them.

One of the thieves, who was significantly larger than the other, both in height and in muscle mass, caught the kunai with his left hand, immediately snapping it in half. The smaller thief quickly dodged the weapon, never once losing balance. _These guys might be a little tougher than I thought…_

The larger man threw a kick at me as I neared the ground, but I managed to block it with my right leg. I made it to the ground and attempted to create some distance by jumping backwards, but before I could, a pair of massive hands caught my legs and threw me back down to the ground. Broken twigs scraped against my skin as I skidded across the forest floor.

I tossed my bangs out of my eyes before looking back at my opponents. The larger man was sprinting towards me, his eyes glowing red with rage. My body froze. All I could do was brace for the attack that was about to come.

When nothing came, I managed to peek my eyes open to see what had happened. "I can't move!" Shouted the man, who stood right before me, his arms limp at his sides.

I looked back at the group to find Miyuki in a concentrated state, her hands pressed together in a basic hand sign. _A paralysis jutsu!_ My face contorted from an expression of fear to confidence, and I lifted myself to my feet to land a devastating blow to his temple. I sent him flying backwards, crying out in pain. I knew he wouldn't be able to get back up, so I charged back in to finish him off.

Suddenly a piercing scream filled the air, causing me to stop in my tracks, my eyes bulging. _Miyuki!_

I looked back to find four shuriken lodged in both of Miyuki's arms and hands. She lost her balance and began to fall backwards, but Hiroshi Sensei quickly caught her before she hit the ground. Katsu ran to her side as well.

"Miyuki!" I called, my heart racing, "Hiroshi Sensei, what just happened to her?"

Hiroshi was gently examining her arms, careful not to hurt her. "The smaller one… while you were focused on fighting the larger man, he threw his shuriken at her arms to break the paralysis jutsu!"

I leaped backwards to help Miyuki. Tears formed in her eyes and blood spilled out of her wounds. She was breathing heavily, wincing in pain as Hiroshi's fingers brushed against her wounds. Despite her undeniable talent, Miyuki never had a high pain threshold.

The thieves' low voices could be heard as they snickered at her cries of agony. Katsu and I instantly rose to our feet, in a ready stance, while Hiroshi stayed with Miyuki. "I'll admit," started the larger man as he cracked his dirty knuckles, "You almost had me there."

"We underestimated you," continued his companion, "but that won't happen again."

"What did you do to Miyuki?" Katsu demanded, his fists clenching in anger. He may have been a bit of a clown most of the time, but he was extremely protective over Miyuki and I since the death of his younger sisters.

"That girl is obviously talented in ninjutsu and genjutsu," the smaller thief explained, "So I rendered her arms and hands useless by throwing a few shuriken into them."

"I-I can't use m-my hands…" Miyuki's voice trembled as she spoke. She tried desperately to move her arms, but small twitches in her fingers were the only responses she received. Her panicked face was losing its color, and her arms were almost completely covered in her blood.

Hiroshi Sensei appeared worried. "Yuri, Katsu, we've got to go. We need to get Miyuki to a hospital before she loses too much blood." He picked her up in his arms as he stood up.

Katsu glared back at Hiroshi Sensei. "You go! I'll take care of these two."

"Katsu, you can't-"

"I'm staying too," I decided, narrowing my eyes at the two thieves, "I'll make them pay for what they've done to my best friend!"

Katsu and I didn't spare another moment. We sped off into the distance, ignoring Hiroshi Sensei's commands to retreat. It wasn't long before we were separated. Katsu ended up chasing after the smaller thief, the one who had injured Miyuki, while I took the larger one so I could finish off what I had begun.

I didn't even think about what was going to happen. My mind was clouded with the thoughts of what they had done to Miyuki, and the anger that took over my entire body trumped any sort of common sense that my mind possessed. I pressed on, determined to do whatever I had to. I was even prepared to _kill_ the bastard.

With every punch and every kick, I pushed him further into the forest. I managed to land a few hits on him, but none were hard enough to make any impact on his muscular body. I relied on my speed to avoid his attacks. When I realized that regular taijutsu would not be enough to handle him, I performed a few back handsprings to separate us.

The man scoffed. "Giving up already? You're no fun."

His remark caused my jaw to clench. I began racing toward him, pulling a few kunai out of my pouch. I hurled the weapons in his direction, and while dodging them preoccupied him, I quickly created a clone to leave in my place before leaping high into the treetops.

I watched him from above, pleased when he began charging at my clone. The plan was an obvious success. Once he was close enough to hit the clone, I let myself fall to the ground. I was directly behind him and in the perfect position for a surprise attack.

"I won't let you get away this time!" was what he shouted before landing a perfect side kick on the clone's neck. He laughed triumphantly, but seemed confused when the clone disappeared into thin air. Grinning, I knew I had won. I grabbed him by the hair, tugging his head backwards, and placed the kunai I gripped in my left hand against his exposed neck.

"How does it feel knowing that a seventeen year old girl is stronger, smarter, and quicker than you are?" I taunted him, allowing the knife's blade to graze against his skin.

The sound of hands clapping echoed behind me, causing me to flinch and inhale sharply. I wanted to turn around and discover who was making the noise, but the fear of losing control of the thief kept me from moving.

"Bravo!" The person exclaimed. My heart sank immediately upon hearing his voice. I let my fingers untangle themselves from his hair and let my left hand fall lifeless at my side. The thief transformed into a pile of mud, which slopped all over the forest floor. _It was only a substitution…_

I turned myself around. The man was grinning, his face mere inches from my own. I tried to remain calm, attempting to work out the available options of escape in my mind. Frantically I racked my brain for ideas, but the fear of the man's inevitable attack clouded my thinking.

His arms, bulging with strength, grasped my arms tightly, preventing me from escaping. The moonlight in the darkness created a sinister look to his already malicious expression. No matter how hard I tried to wriggle free, he was too strong. I couldn't even use my hands to perform a jutsu. All I could do was wait for him to end it. And as tightly as I closed my eyes, somehow a tear managed to squeeze through and glide down my cheek. _I'm sorry, Miyuki…_


	5. Chapter Five: An Unlikely Visitor

Author's Note: I only have one thing to say here... SHIKAMARU! :)  
Yes, Shikamaru is in this chapter. Finally, right? Haha. Enjoy and maybe, possibly, if you would like to make me _suuuper _happy, review? :D  
I guess I said more than one thing... ahh who cares... why are you still reading this anyway? Shikamaru is waiting!

**Chapter Five: An Unlikely Visitor**

This was it. I had failed not only my team, but I had failed myself. All the time that I had spent perfecting my skills, all the late nights at the training field… it was all for nothing. I wasn't good enough. I would _never _become the great ninja that I had always dreamed of becoming.

Even when I was just a little kid, I had always wanted to be a shinobi. I would climb trees and roll around in my front yard, fighting imaginary opponents. I was covered in dirt and bruises by the time I came inside at night. My father would sit me on his lap after dinner and tell me that he knew that I would one day become a great ninja. I had never really known my mother because she died just a few months after I was born, so my father was all that I had.

When I had graduated from the academy, my father was so proud of me. He picked me up and whirled me around in circles, kissing my cheeks and pulling me into a warm embrace. "You will be great, Yuri," he said to me, fighting back tears of joy with a giant smile.

When I started training with Miyuki, Katsu, and Hiroshi Sensei, it was clear that I wasn't exactly the strongest ninja on our team. I fell behind, unable to learn new skills and jutsu as quickly as the others. I promptly decided that I should train longer than the others so that I could keep up, so when everyone else would leave for the night, I would stay behind and continue training until I could barely move. Sometimes I was forced to sleep on the cold, hard ground, unable to pick myself up and walk home because of the pain I suffered.

One particular night, Hiroshi Sensei had returned to the training field after he had dismissed us. He had forgotten his backpack, which contained all his lesson plans, extra weapons, and a first aid kit. When he arrived, he found me lying on the ground, my knuckles bleeding from all the punches I had done and my shins and feet severely bruised from all the kicks I had done. I had my face in the dirt, tears flowing down my earth-covered face.

Hiroshi Sensei approached me quietly. I didn't even know he was there until I felt his hand on my shoulder. I tried to cover up my tears and muster a shaky "Hello," but Hiroshi Sensei's sympathetic smile showed that he could see through my act.

"Don't get discouraged," he told me, "You may not be as naturally talented as your friends, but you've got something that they don't have. Perseverance. You work harder than any other ninja I've ever trained, and that hard work is really starting to pay off."

I wiped my eyes and said, "You think?"

He smiled. "Of course! You've improved a great deal since we began training. And Yuri?"

"Yeah?"

"Hard work and determination will always prevail over talent."

Hiroshi Sensei's words that night had changed me. Never again did I allow myself to give up when the journey got rough, and never again did I feel insignificant because of my lack of natural talent.

Suddenly the grip the man had on my arms had loosened until he was no longer holding on to me. I immediately took the opportunity to jump back a few feet, wiping my glassy eyes free of the forming tears.

"Oh come on! Not again!" The thief shouted angrily.

I lifted my gaze to view the man. His arms lay limp at his sides, and he had a confused expression on his face. His eyes darted in the direction of his right arm as it seemed to lift in the air against his will. "What did you do?" He demanded, his glaring eyes shooting daggers at me.

I couldn't answer. I had absolutely no idea as to what was happening.

"Picking on a girl half your size? Pathetic."

I snapped my head in the direction of the new voice. Nonchalantly leaning against the trunk of a large tree, his right arm raised in the air and his left hand dangling at his side, appeared the silhouette of a familiar ninja. The spiky ponytail at the top of his head gave away his identity. It was none other than Shikamaru Nara, the laziest shinobi in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Shikamaru?" I questioned, cocking my head to one side in confusion.

"Oh, hey Yuri." He coolly replied after a little yawn.

"Somebody tell me what's going on!"

"Shadow Possession jutsu," Shikamaru explained, lowering his right arm. The thief's right arm dropped as well. "As long as my shadow is connected to yours, whatever I do, you do. Understand?" The man appeared worried; clearly, he understood.

Shikamaru reached into his pouch and pulled out five kunai, which he let fall to the ground. He then stretched his own shadow in five thin strands, each of which proceeded to lift off of the ground to grasp the weapons and raise them into the air. He surrounded the thief with the five sharp knives, the blades gleaming grimly in the moonlight. I heard the man's breathing begin to race as he pleaded in a trembling voice for Shikamaru to spare him.

The kunai simultaneously began closing in on the man. His pleas echoed loudly in the silent forest.

"STOP!"

The kunai remained still in the air, mere inches away from the man's neck. Shikamaru dropped his gaze to me, confused at my outburst. He waited for me to elaborate.

"Can I…?"

Shikamaru smirked. "By all means."

He let the shadows recede, causing the kunai to fall to the ground with muffled thuds. I took a moment to concentrate my chakra to my fists for maximum power and maximum pain. I looked the man in his terrified eyes before sprinting toward him. I wound up, and when I was close enough, I unloaded a massive amount of chakra straight to his heart in one swift blow. Shikamaru released his jutsu and the man fell to the ground.

My chest rose and fell with my ragged breathing as I glared at the body lying lifeless on the ground. Shikamaru descended the tree, shoving his hands into his pockets as he wandered over to take a look. He had the same bored expression that he always had.

"Nice punch," He commented.

I smiled. "Thanks, the concentrated chakra and the blow to the heart… there's no way he could have survived."

We stood silent for a few moments, our eyes lifting from the body to the stars in the dark sky. I cleared my throat, attempting to rid my stomach of the butterflies that tickled me and made me quiver. I bit my lip, replaying what had just happened in my mind, and I took a few deep breaths. "Thank you, Shikamaru… for saving my life."


	6. Chapter Six: Shikamaru

Author's Note: Alright, this one's not all that long. Sorry about that. Buuttt, as the title suggests, this one is full of Shikamaru!  
Enjoy! Review/Make me happy? Thank yous! :D

**Chapter Six: Shikamaru**

Shikamaru and I began our journey out of the forest soon after the man's death. We didn't talk much. The occasional cricket chirping was the only sound that filled the dark forest. I didn't know about Shikamaru, but I found the silence to be quite awkward.

"So," I sighed, searching for something to say, "Your team was assigned this mission too?"

"Nope," he answered simply.

My face scrunched in confusion. "Then… what were you doing here this late at night?"

He yawned, his eyelids closing sleepily. "I took a walk here earlier today. Ended up falling asleep in a tree. Your fight with that giant woke me up."

"Sorry for waking you," I grumbled, rolling my eyes.

He smirked, sensing my annoyance.

We continued on. My feet began to drag against the dead leaves on the ground as fatigue started slowly taking over my body. My eyelids began to droop, and I had to fight to keep them from closing completely.

"You going to be alright?" Shikamaru asked as he placed his hands on my shoulders. Exhaustion impaired my balance, and I had unintentionally swayed into Shikamaru as I trudged along.

My eyes shot open. My whole body awakened as I felt his hands softly brush across my upper back, as if the tips of his fingers had released pulses of electricity into me. I quickly regained my balance and pulled away from him. I was thankful that it was dark out, for I could feel my cheeks beginning to burn in embarrassment. "I'm fine, thanks." I mumbled.

"Come on," he sighed, grabbing my right wrist with his left hand. He led me to a large tree and told me to sit down. When I started to refuse, he rolled his eyes and interrupted, "Stop trying to act all tough. It's obvious you're worn out."

I narrowed my eyes at him for a moment before I resentfully did as I was told. I sat on the ground, leaned back against the large tree trunk, and stretched my legs out in front of me, crossing my right ankle over my left. Shikamaru sat beside me, his right leg bent and his left stretched out. His gaze fell to his lap and he crossed his arms over his chest.

I glared at nothing in particular. I hated being told what to do, especially by some lazy-ass kid like Shikamaru. _I guess he is just trying to look out for me… No! No, he's just trying to make me feel inferior because I'm a girl! Ugh… how irritating… sexist pig…_

I tilted my head to the side so I could look at him. His small black eyes were drooping, not in fatigue but in the overwhelming lethargy that was characteristic of him. The bright moonlight outlined his profile in the intense darkness, from the spiky hair in his high ponytail to the slight curve of his nose. He licked his lips, causing them to glisten as they gave a slight pucker. He was obviously thinking about something.

Noticing that I had been staring at him, I quickly averted my gaze back to my lap. I mentally slapped myself for making it so painfully obvious.

"Done staring now?" Shikamaru smirked, his eyes still focused on the ground.

I rolled my eyes. "Nice ego."

He chuckled, letting his eyes fall close. I pursed my lips and tried to control myself from strangling him. _What an ass… I wasn't staring at him. I just zoned out, that's all…_

"Now, now," he whispered, "is that any way to talk to the man who just saved your life?"

"Man?" I scoffed, reaching over to punch his arm as I glared at him. He pouted and rubbed his injury. "You're still just a boy."

"Yuri Myoko, you've always been troublesome."

His lips formed a slanted smile as his eyes met mine, and I couldn't help but relax my narrowed eyes and let myself giggle quietly. He seemed pleased with my reaction, and the two of us began laughing uncontrollably at each other, unsure as to what exactly it was that we were laughing about. Shikamaru laughed even harder when I let out a loud hiccup, which seemed to reverberate against the thousands of trees throughout the forest. I nearly choked on air trying to contain myself.

It was probably the exhaustion.

When we finally calmed ourselves down, we let our heads fall back against the tree. I tilted my head to look at Shikamaru, only to find him gazing back at me. "Who's staring now?" I joked.

Shikamaru smiled and whispered, "Nice ego."

I didn't realize how close we really were until I felt his breath against my cold skin. His eyes were locked on mine, and I felt my heart begin to pound inside my chest. I noticed that my palms were sweating, despite the crisp night air.

A hiccup disrupted the silence, and I was quickly brought back to my senses. I nervously cleared my throat and turned my head away from him. _I think we just… no… there's no way we almost…_

I tried to shake the thoughts out of my mind, and soon enough I had fallen asleep.


	7. Chapter Seven: Team Hiroshi Reunites

**Chapter Seven: Team Hiroshi Reunites**

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Shikamaru. He held me in his arms, his eyes focused ahead of him as he maneuvered through the treetops. The wind was whirling against my skin, and the rising morning sun peeked through the leaves and gave light to the beautiful forest.

I was close enough to smell the musky blend of sweat and the outdoors that his body emitted. Still not fully awake, I inhaled his scent like a drug, subconsciously enjoying it. My eyes fluttered closed, and I sighed.

"I see you're finally awake," Shikamaru remarked, keeping his eyes ahead of him.

I gasped, snapping out of my trance. "W-what are you doing?" I demanded, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

Shikamaru nearly tripped after my outburst had startled him, so he stopped travelling for a moment to set me down. He regained his balance, and I hastily turned my head away to hide my reddening face. I hated appearing helpless. It made me feel weak, and if I was ever going to become a great ninja, I could _not _be weak.

We began travelling again, this time side by side, the way it should have originally been. "You know, you could have just woken me up," I grumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"I tried," he countered, "but you were totally out of it. And you nearly took my head off with a surprise left hook."

I grinned, imagining how utterly hilarious that would have been. We meandered through the treetops for about an hour, neither of us saying a single word to the other. My mind was too focused on my team to talk to Shikamaru anyway. I hoped that Katsu was able to make it out of the forest by himself, and I prayed that Miyuki had made it safely to the hospital. My thoughts kept me occupied during the journey, and before I knew it we had reached the entrance to Konoha. We let ourselves fall to the ground before following the rocky path through the city gates.

"I can see you home, if you want," Shikamaru offered, peeking over at me out of the corners of his eyes.

"I can take care of myself, thanks," I snapped, picking up speed as I headed down the main road.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and turned to follow the road to the right. I heard him mutter things like "I try to be nice, and she freaks out on me," and "women are so troublesome," under his breath over the scuffing of his shoes against the gravel.

I kept a look of annoyance on my scrunched face, but beneath the surface my heart was attacked with a pang of guilt. _He was just trying to be nice… Maybe I was a little too hard on him… No! Gah, what am I thinking? _

In a futile attempt to ignore my mixed feelings, I began sprinting down the road toward the hospital. I needed to see how Miyuki was doing, and that would certainly keep Shikamaru out of my troubled mind. Five minutes following the road through the busy streets took me promptly to the hospital, and I immediately found Hiroshi Sensei sitting on a bench outside the main doors, his right leg crossed over his left as he flipped aimlessly through a magazine. He had dark circles under his eyes and his black hair was a mess. It was obvious that he hadn't slept a wink the previous night.

He heard my approaching footsteps and swiftly tossed the magazine aside. "Hey there, Yuri," he smiled, "So you finally made it out of there, huh?"

I nodded. "How's Miyuki?"

"She's getting better," he assured me, "Her arms are sore, but the doctor says she'll recover with no long-term damage. Why don't you go visit her? Katsu's been with her since he got back from the forest early this morning."

I was relieved. Katsu made it out alive and Miyuki was going to be fine. I started hustling toward the automatic doors, but whirled myself back around to ask Hiroshi Sensei if he was going to join me. "I've been here all night, and now that I know you're ok, I can go report our findings to the Hokage." He turned on his heel, waved goodbye, and left to find Lady Tsunade.

The hospital doors opened, and a wall of cold air quickly cooled my sun-kissed skin and gave me goose bumps. The lobby was fairly empty. A secretary was reading a novel at the front desk, two nurses walked out of the cafeteria and separated to start their rounds, and a middle-aged man sat in the waiting room as he scribbled down information on a patient intake form. Other than that, the place was empty. The soles of my shoes scraped against the tile as I approached the front desk. Setting down her novel, the secretary flashed me a toothy grin and asked, "How can I help you this morning?"

I asked for Miyuki Sasaki's room number. She checked the book of records, which lie open on her desk, and told me that my friend was in room number 205. "Up one floor and down the hall to the left," she said. I thanked her and followed her directions.

The door to Miyuki's room was open, and I could see Katsu sitting on the edge of her bed from the hallway. I knocked gently against the metal door, earning the attention of my friends, and smiled as I stepped through the threshold. Katsu sprang up from his seat to give me an excited hug, and Miyuki sighed in relief, glad that I was safe. When Katsu released me from his arms, I approached the side of Miyuki's bed to give her a gentle embrace, careful not to touch her arms.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Miyuki as Katsu and I took a seat on the edges of her bed.

"Don't worry about me," Miyuki insisted, "I almost can't feel the pain anymore. The doctors say that I'll be able to go home in a few days."

We spent the rest of the day talking in her room. Miyuki asked Katsu and I about what happened with the thieves, so each of us gave detailed explanations about our fights. Apparently Katsu was able to take out the smaller thief with almost no problem. He may have been quick, but Katsu was quicker. Taijutsu had always been his specialty.

When I told them about my fight, Miyuki took a special interest in the fact that Shikamaru showed up to help me out. I rolled my eyes when she joked about the night we had spent _alone _in the forest. I had to restrain myself from punching her in her current state, but I didn't hesitate to knock some sense into Katsu when he joined her in poking fun at me.

As the day ended, Katsu and I were asked by a nurse to leave for the night. We said our goodbyes to Miyuki before leaving the facility to head home.

Brilliant oranges and reds filled the sky as the sun lowered on the horizon, and the evening air was warm against our skin. We walked home together; Katsu lived only a few houses down from mine. Shops were closing, and parents called their children inside for the night. Katsu and I were soon alone in the street.

"You know Yuki and I were just joking about the whole Shikamaru thing, right?" Katsu laughed as he leaped onto a handrail and began tiptoeing along the thin metal bar.

"I know," I sighed.

I didn't say much else during the walk home. When Katsu and I went our separate ways, I headed straight for my room and immediately threw myself onto my bed. My eyes closed, but I couldn't sleep. As much as I tried to keep him out of my thoughts, Shikamaru kept finding a way to drive me insane.


	8. Chapter Eight: A Relaxing Day Off

Author's Note: I present to you another installment of _Shadow Possession of the Heart.  
And I'll have you know that the Shikamaru love is coming very soon. :D  
Review please? It would make me super duper happy! hehe. _

**Chapter Eight: A Relaxing Day Off**

Hiroshi Sensei gave us a day off of training the following day since Miyuki was still in the hospital recovering from her injuries. Unable to think of anything else to do, however, I decided to head to the training field anyway. I hardly slept the previous night; the constant battle between my own common sense and the ceaseless thoughts of Shikamaru in the forest had managed to keep my mind occupied, despite my obvious need for a good night's sleep. I wiped the corners of my eyes free of crust before hoisting myself upright in my bed.

I meandered to my dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of clothes. I had been wearing the same outfit for two days straight, and I was more than a little dingy at that point. Walking into the bathroom, I kicked the door shut and placed the clean clothes on the counter. I lazily slipped out of my dirty clothes, leaving them in the middle of the floor, before jumping into the shower.

The hot water collided with my skin in a rather invigorating way, causing my eyes to gradually awaken. I sighed, enjoying the warmth, and began washing my hair and body free of the dirt and grime of the forest. The fresh scent of the soap tingled the insides of my nostrils in a pleasant way as I breathed in the aroma. When I was satisfied with the crisp, clean feeling on my skin, I turned the water off and wrapped a towel around my body before stepping out of the shower.

I quickly dried myself off before pulling on my clean clothes. I wore a light blue tank top, a pair of forest-green shorts that covered my mid-thigh, and a black short-sleeved cropped jacket. My headband was promptly tied around my forehead, my fiery bangs falling over the metal plate. I decided to leave my shoulder-length hair down that day. Satisfied with my appearance, I exited the bathroom and started for the training field.

As I walked through the village, I saw numerous ninja teams beginning to set out for their training. Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame were meeting with Kurenai Sensei, discussing the day's plans, and I also noticed Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi Sensei run past me to begin their training. I just hoped that no one had claimed the training field before me.

When I arrived, I was pleased to find that the field was unoccupied. I sat down in the grass and spread my legs, leaning to the right to grab my right foot in a satisfying stretch. I continued the routine with my left side, and then proceeded to loosen my stiff arm muscles. By the time I was finished stretching, however, I had lost all motivation to train. I decided to just lie down on my back and just take in the beautiful summer sun.

I breathed in the scent of nature and closed my eyes blissfully. The gentle breeze made the grass sway, and I could feel the soft tickle of the green blades against my skin. The leaves quietly rustled together, and the sound nearly lulled me to sleep.

"Did you die?" I heard a familiar low voice question flatly. The hint of monotony in his tone was a dead giveaway to his identity.

I peeked my right eye open to confirm my suspicion. "Just when I was starting to enjoy my day off…"

"Ha, ha," Shikamaru mock-laughed, rolling his eyes. His hands were shoved in his pockets like they usually were. "What are you doing here?" He continued.

"I'm obviously training," I answered before I realized that what I had intended to do here was not exactly what I had ended up doing.

Shikamaru scoffed. "Oh yeah, how did I miss it?" Sarcasm. Of course.

I lifted myself up so that I was no longer lying on my back. I crossed my legs and leaned the majority of my weight on my hands behind me. "What are _you _doing here?"

"Bored," he replied after a yawn.

"Your team's not training today?" I had no idea why I was actually trying to make conversation with him.

"Nah," he responded, lowering himself into a sitting position across from me. His eyes avoided contact with mine. "Ino is on vacation with her family, so Asuma Sensei decided to take Choji and I out for barbeque instead."

I giggled when I remembered Naruto musing about Choji's admission to the hospital for overeating. The poor kid had a severe case of indigestion, and as soon as he was released he went straight back to the restaurant to finish what he had started. I found his undying love for food rather hysterical.

"Asuma Sensei and Choji started arguing about the appropriate rate at which Choji should consume his food. I found it quite troublesome. I said I was going to the bathroom, but decided to sneak out and go for a little walk instead."

"So you walked to the training field?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

Shikamaru turned his head to face me, and for the first time that day his eyes met mine. They looked as unenthusiastic as they always did. "I noticed you lying here by yourself. Thought I'd stop by and say hello."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't need your pity."

He smirked and lifted his gaze toward the sky. "Troublesome Yuri."

I narrowed my eyes in his direction, but decided to just let it go. I then let my eyes wander to the sky, like Shikamaru's eyes had, and subconsciously began assigning shapes to the clouds like I used to do when I was a child. I sighed, wishing for a split second that I could have stayed little forever. This wish was quickly dismissed, however. If I stayed young forever, then I wouldn't have become the kunoichi that I was.

"I wish I could be a cloud," Shikamaru said in a husky murmur.

I smiled, shaking my head in amusement. "That doesn't surprise me… lazy-ass."

His eyes snapped in my direction, entertained by my choice of words. He let a small laugh escape his lips before averting his eyes back to the fluffy whites in the sky. "What's your problem with me, anyway?"

I was surprised by his inquiry. There was no hostility in his words, just mere curiosity. I cleared my throat nervously before answering, "Like I said… you're lazy." My cheeks burned as I realized how idiotic that must have sounded.

He grinned, allowing his eyes to fall close as he lowered himself to lie on his back. He appeared to be enjoying the warm sun and the calm breeze as they softly caressed his skin. I examined him as he did this. He appeared completely relaxed and happy. A few strands of hair fell loose from his ponytail and swayed in the gentle wind, and his nose scrunched for a moment as the stray hair tickled him. When I noticed that I had been smiling at this little quirk, I quickly looked away and nervously bit my lip.

"I may be lazy," Shikamaru started, tilting his head to face me, "but that doesn't mean that I won't lay my life on the line to protect one of my comrades." His expression was one of sincerity.

After a thoughtful pause, I lowered my gaze to my lap. I tried to fight the nagging feeling of guilt and regret that began to eat away at me, attempting to keep myself composed. "Why did you save me, Shikamaru?" I asked softly.

His sounded confused. "Yuri, I just told you that-"

"But I've always treated you so horribly," I interjected. I sighed, trying to find the words to express what was on my mind. "I just don't understand what motivation you would have to save me…"

"You are a member of the Village Hidden in the Leaves," he stated dully, cradling his hands behind his head, "so no matter how you may have treated me in the past, you're still my comrade."

I gulped, my eyes full of shame. I managed to bring myself to look into his eyes, and, as revolting as the thought of apologizing to Shikamaru was, I forced myself to whisper, "I'm sorry, Shikamaru."

He smirked, appearing triumphant. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you-"

"Oh, it was nauseating enough saying it once, Shikamaru! Don't make me say it again!"

He laughed at my response. "Alright, alright," he said, "so does this mean that you're not going to pick on me anymore?"

I smirked. "Don't count on it, buddy."


	9. Chapter Nine: Distracted

Author's Note: All I really have to say for this one is...  
*puppy dog eyes* Review? :)  
Oh! And thanks to Repentless Wind, SasuTenLuvr, and fearless-sparrow for the reviews. :D  
Enjoy chapter nine!

**Chapter Nine: Distracted**

We were back to our normal training schedule. Miyuki had finally been discharged from the hospital, and Hiroshi Sensei ordered us to meet at the training field bright and early to resume our training. He said we would have to train twice as hard to make up for lost time.

"Yuri! Snap out of it!"

My only problem: my inability to focus.

Thoughts of yesterday were whizzing uncontrollably through my mind, making it impossible for me to concentrate on the training session. I couldn't stop thinking about Shikamaru. I caught myself picturing the way he looked yesterday. The way his half-opened dark eyes sparkled in the bright sunlight as he looked at me, the way his lips moved into that sly, slanted smile of his when he found something particularly amusing… and every time I noticed myself daydreaming about him, I wanted to vomit. These pestering thoughts angered me. I didn't know where they were coming from.

A swift blow to my solar plexus was enough to wrench me from my trance. _Great,_ I thought to myself, doubling over in pain as I tried to breathe, _I lost against Katsu… why can't I focus?_

Hiroshi Sensei raced to my side and managed to catch me before I dropped to my knees. "Sorry, Yuri," I heard Katsu say, concerned, but triumphant at the same time.

"You… really don't know your own s-strength, do you?" I managed to choke between ragged gasps for air. I forced a smile to let him know I wasn't mad.

"What's up with you today, Yuri?" Hiroshi Sensei wondered aloud. He wrapped his left arm around me, pulling me to my feet, and helped me walk to a spot in the shade where Miyuki was sitting. I sat down against a large tree and leaned my head back against the rough bark, my eyes shut tightly as pain shot throughout my entire body and restricted my breathing.

"I'm fine," I whispered, trying to calm my erratic breathing. Within a matter of minutes, the pain had subsided, and I was back on my feet challenging Katsu to a rematch.

Hiroshi Sensei quickly separated the two of us. "That's enough for now, you guys. How about a little lunch break?"

Katsu's eyes brightened. "Oh yes! I'm _starving!_"

Hiroshi Sensei stifled a laugh. "Alright, I'll give you guys an hour to go get some lunch. Meet back here so we can continue our training."

I was about to walk to the village with Miyuki when Hiroshi Sensei placed his hand on my shoulder. "You go on with Katsu," he said to Miyuki, "I need to have a little talk with Yuri."

Miyuki flashed me a sympathetic look before running to catch up with Katsu, who had already begun bouncing from vendor to vendor in the market in search for food. I was nervous. I knew that Hiroshi Sensei was going to want to know what was wrong with me, but I didn't want to tell him about Shikamaru. I had to come up with some sort of excuse…

"I think you know what I'm going to ask you," he said knowingly.

I sighed. "I'm fine, Hiroshi Sensei."

"Yuri," he started, "I think I've trained with you guys long enough to know that you and Katsu are pretty equally matched. He shouldn't have been able to win so easily."

When I didn't answer, he continued, "It's obvious that you're distracted by something. You can talk to me, you know."

"I know," I mumbled, kicking a dandelion and watching the white fluffs as they danced away in the breeze. Realizing that I wasn't going to get anywhere by acting like this, I cleared my throat and put on the most convincing fake smile that I could muster. "Don't worry about me, Hiroshi Sensei. I'm just… tired… that's all."

He looked suspicious for a moment, but patted my head and smiled. "Alright, Yuri. Go grab something to eat with your friends. Maybe that will wake you up."

I caught up with Miyuki and Katsu, who were seated in a booth at the barbeque restaurant. As the meat and veggies simmered on the hot stove, Shikamaru found his way back into my wandering mind once again. I remembered him telling me that he ate at this exact restaurant yesterday. I subconsciously wondered if I was sitting where he sat, and immediately scolded myself for it. _That's ridiculous! What difference does it make where he sat? Gah, Yuri, get it together!_

I ate my food in silence, and when we exited the restaurant, Miyuki and I walked back to the training field slowly, allowing Katsu to race ahead of us. She gazed at me for a moment and asked, "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," I replied.

She stopped walking and grasped my shoulders with both of her hands, forcing me to face her. My eyes wandered, avoiding eye contact with her. "I think I know when something's bothering my best friend," she smiled in a caring way, her face soft and sympathetic.

"It's… complicated," I finally told her.

I wasn't completely lying. Not even _I_ knew why I kept thinking about that lazy-ass shinobi. I had known him for five years, and nothing like this had ever happened before. Why was I suddenly concerned with the way _he _felt? Why did I find myself smiling whenever the wind blew his scent into my nose? Why did I catch myself staring at him when we were together? All these questions haunted me, and I hadn't had a single answer to any of them. It was really beginning to piss me off.

Miyuki looked like she wanted to say something, but was debating as to whether or not she should actually verbalize it. Her eyes darted from left to right, and she licked her lips as she battled mentally with herself. She sighed, and finally said, "Is it Shikamaru?"

Nervous jolts shot through my entire body, causing my heart to skip a beat and then resume pounding faster and faster. My jaw dropped as I tried desperately to answer her without sounding suspicious. "No! Why would you think that?" I rolled my eyes to avoid her stare. I broke free from her grip and began walking back to the training field.

Miyuki's footsteps followed close behind me as she quickly caught up to me. "It's just…" she started, unsure if she should continue or just let it go. She continued after a moment of thought, "Katsu told me that he saw you and Shikamaru talking yesterday, and I thought maybe he said something-"

"Yuki!" I snapped, whirling around to face her, "I'm fine!"

We continued to the training field in silence, Miyuki staying a step behind me the entire way. My face was stone cold, but inside I was kicking myself for yelling at Miyuki, my best friend, who was only trying to look out for me. When we arrived, I turned around and flashed her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Yuki… I didn't mean to… I'm just…"

Her thin lips curved into a small smile. "It's alright," she said, "you can talk when you're ready to talk."

I was so thankful to have a friend as understanding as Miyuki. Despite my many angry outbursts, Miyuki understood me, and she always forgave me. Like I said before, she's perfect.

I managed to make it through the rest of the day, somehow managing to keep that annoying Shikamaru from taking over my thoughts. When the sun had set and the stars began to twinkle in the night sky, Hiroshi Sensei dismissed us, telling us to meet him tomorrow morning for another session. I decided against training late, so Miyuki and I walked home together. We would have walked with Katsu too, had he not dashed off immediately upon his release.

Miyuki and I talked and laughed, and I was having a good time. I teased her about Sasuke, just as I usually did, and she threatened to beat me to a pulp, just as she usually did. Things seemed to return to normal in that moment. The fun soon stopped, however, when, from the opposite end of the street, Asuma Sensei's team could be seen returning from their training in the forest. Miyuki and I waved to the shinobi as they passed, but I quickly hid my face from Shikamaru. My cheeks began to burn, and I had no idea why.

It appeared to me that Miyuki hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, so I breathed a mental sigh of relief. When it came time for us to go our separate ways, we said our goodbyes and headed to our homes. The hard day of training had worn me out. I had passed out before my head even hit my pillow.


	10. Chapter Ten: Surrender

Author's Note: This is it! :D  
No, not the end, but the _beginning, _know what I'm saying? ;)  
Hehe, enjoy chapter ten! Reviews would make me super happy.  
Oh, and I apologize if it's a little _too_ fluffy haha.

**Chapter Ten: Surrender**

The next morning I woke up completely refreshed. The sun shone through my bedroom window and bathed me in the warm morning light, the birds were chirping happily from high in the trees, and children laughed as they played, enjoying the new day. The best part about the morning? The fact that I found my thoughts of Shikamaru becoming gradually easier to control. Now _that _made me happy.

I quickly dressed myself and headed to the training field for another day with the team. I was determined to make up for the way I had acted yesterday. I opened the front door to exit my house, breathed in the fresh morning air, and let my feet lead me to my destination. My head was held high as confidence radiated from me.

I had reached the field in no time at all, and I was pleased when I noticed that I was the first one to arrive. Immediately I began to stretch myself out so that I would be ready once Hiroshi Sensei arrived. _Heh, I can't believe I actually let that punk Shikamaru get to me. I'm glad that's over!_

When Hiroshi Sensei spotted me warming up for the day's work, he smiled, thrilled to see that whatever had possessed me yesterday would not be interfering today. He confessed that he was impressed by my determination. "I'm going to make up for what happened yesterday, Hiroshi Sensei." I answered as I jumped to my feet. By the time Miyuki and Katsu had showed up, I had already started training. First were ten laps around the training field, then tree exercises to warm up our chakra concentration, then sparring matches. When we finished with the general routine, he proceeded to coach us individually on our specific skills.

While Katsu was training with weights to improve his taijutsu, and Miyuki was busy trying to strengthen the effects of her genjutsu on some birds, Hiroshi Sensei wandered over to me to begin my instruction. He surprised me when he asked me what I wanted to work on.

I was confused. "You mean, _I _can choose?"

"I'm impressed by how hard you've worked, Yuri," he explained with a proud smile.

"Well," I started as I racked my brain for something that I wanted to learn, "I've heard of people using their chakra like a blade, hurting their opponent with a weapon they can't even see… could you teach me how to do that?"

Hiroshi Sensei unzipped his backpack and rummaged through it in search of something. In a matter of seconds he pulled out a kunai and handed it to me. "Here, take this," he said. I took the weapon and gripped it in my right hand. "You should probably start by using your chakra to extend the blade of an existing weapon before you try to create your own blade."

Hiroshi Sensei guided me through the process, providing a helpful hint here and there, but, for the most part, allowing me to figure it out for myself. My palm was beginning to burn as I continually focused large amounts of chakra to my right hand. I was disappointed when nothing had happened. "Don't get frustrated," he told me, "this technique isn't easy. It could take you weeks, if not _months _to master this one."

"I'll get it sooner than that," I growled, struggling to talk as I desperately tried to maintain focus. I fought through the burning pain, and just when I thought I couldn't hold on any longer, I could feel my chakra flowing more smoothly. My eyes widened in surprise as I realized I had actually managed to extend the blade, but I threw the kunai in anger when I realized it only extended about a millimeter or so. It wasn't enough to make any sort of difference.

I vowed to master the technique, but, unfortunately, the sun began to set and Hiroshi Sensei dismissed us for the night. I wanted to stay there and continue training, but Hiroshi Sensei told me to get some rest and to resume in the morning. The new technique had drained most of my chakra, and, even if I did stay, it wouldn't have been much longer before I passed out from exhaustion. I tried to convince my sensei to let me stay, but he assured me that if he had to, he would personally drag me home. Deciding that wasn't something that I wanted to happen, I started for home. Miyuki and Katsu had left while I was arguing with Hiroshi Sensei, so I was left all alone.

Shikamaru hadn't crossed my mind at all that day, and I was glad. I didn't need him messing up my training anymore than he already had. Smiling triumphantly to myself, I continued down the main road. Shopkeepers were closing up shop early for the night; the sky was unusually dark and the evening was strangely silent.

As I turned the corner, I noticed two familiar voices conversing nearby. I peeked out of the corner of my eye to find Shikamaru and Asuma Sensei exiting a shop across the street. I rolled my eyes. _Great, just when I thought I'd gotten rid of him…_

"So, that Yuri Myoko girl…"

_Did I just hear my name?_

I concentrated on their voices, trying to listen in on their conversation. I was curious as to what was being said about me.

"What about her?" Shikamaru questioned curtly. His voice held that same monotonous tone that it always did.

"Choji tells me that you ditched us the other day to hang out with her." Asuma Sensei's tone was somewhat accusing, but playfully so.

"Not exclusively for her, but yes, we talked."

"Does my little Shikamaru have a _cruuush?_" Asuma Sensei laughed, stretching out the word 'crush' teasingly.

"No."

It was like I had walked straight into a brick wall. A shooting pain travelled through my heart and then to every other part of my body, causing me to stop walking. The word 'no' echoed in my brain, pain throbbing through my chest as it did. It was as if out of that boy's mouth shot a bullet that tore through and destroyed my entire being, rather than a simple answer to Asuma Sensei's question. My fingers began to tremble, my lips quivering and my eyes forming tears. I merely stood there for a moment. Tiny droplets of rain began to fall from the sky, and a loud crash of thunder startled me. I did the first thing that I could think of doing. I ran.

I didn't know exactly where I was going, but I didn't care. I wanted to be as far away from that asshole _Shikamaru _as I possibly could. The rain fell harder and lightning illuminated the dark sky. I ran.

Tears began streaming down my face as I slowly lost control of myself. Sniffles gradually turned into loud sobs. My hands were clenched into tight fists and my hurrying feet splashed against the puddles in the road. And I ran.

The end of the road signified my departure from Konoha, but I continued into the forest until I had grown too tired to run any longer. My knees shook until they finally collapsed. Lying in the mud, I tried desperately to stop myself from breaking down. I didn't even understand why I was so upset in the first place. It's not like I really cared about Shikamaru anyway…

I stood up and began furiously throwing punches into a sopping wet tree until my fists were sore and my knuckles began to bleed. I turned myself around, leaning my back against the tree trunk, and looked into the sky. Strands of my wet hair stuck to my face, causing droplets of water to drip down the skin of my face and neck. Seconds turned to minutes, and I was still standing in that spot, unable to move. I felt so weak, but I didn't have the will to do anything about it. _What is wrong with me? Why do I feel this way?_

Without warning, the tension in my shoulders faded. I unintentionally let my hands and arms fall limp at my sides, but it wasn't until let my eyes wander downward that I understood why.

There stood Shikamaru, his hands limp at his sides, just as mine were. His shadow possession jutsu had connected our shadows, and now he controlled me. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Go away," I spat.

"Yuri-"

"I said go away, Shikamaru!"

He seemed taken aback for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. "Yuri," he said, raising his voice over the pounding rain and rolling thunder, "as long as our shadows are connected, whatever I do, you do." I recognized the explanation of his jutsu from the night in the forest. "You might as well listen to what I have to say."

I let my eyes relax, signaling for him to start explaining why he had followed me into the forest.

He took a few steps closer, and I was forced to do the same. We were now just a few feet apart. "Are you upset because you heard what I said to Asuma Sensei?"

"It doesn't matter," I stubbornly replied, avoiding the question.

"Answer me!" He pleaded, his usual calmness seemed to wash away in the storm. When I didn't answer, Shikamaru continued, "I don't understand. You don't like me; you've made that very clear over the past few years."

I stayed silent, my eyes on the ground, as I listened to his wavering voice.

"I thought maybe that could change. In the forest, I thought that maybe you were finally starting to see me for who I truly am, but it's obvious that you will always view me as the 'irritating, lazy-ass shinobi,' and you'll never like me."

"Maybe I don't like you!" I shouted, fighting against another pool of tears that had once again formed in my eyes. If I were able to move on my own, my fists would have been clenched in anger at my sides. I paused for a moment to think about everything that had been happening the past few days, and I was surprised when everything suddenly seemed to click in my mind. The uncontrollable thoughts of him that disrupted my everyday life… maybe I did have feelings for him. Maybe I was just repressing those feelings because of my own personal bias from the Academy five years ago…

The rain dribbled down his face, and his ponytail began to sag as the water weighed it down. I studied him again, immediately noticing a change. His eyes weren't the usual detached black orbs that hid behind tired eyelids. He seemed to gaze back at me with emotion. Whether that emotion was fear, anger, or despair, I wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. I knew, deep down, that he wasn't the same boy that I had gone to school with. In the forest, it became clear that he had grown into a strong and talented shinobi, and when he rescued me, underneath my dislike for him I must have known that he really wasn't as careless as he had once been. He was different now... and I was just now beginning to see it.

I felt myself surrender to my suppressed feelings, and, incidentally, the storm died down until the thunder had stopped until it was only drizzling. "Or… maybe I do…" I whispered.

As I finished speaking my confession, his face expressed a new emotion. Surprise, perhaps.

Shikamaru and I, still bound together by the shadows, began stepping closer and closer to each other in unison, until our faces were just inches apart. His hands rose to cup my face, and my hands found his face as well. I felt my body quiver, not because I was cold, but because I was nervous. He and I were so close to each other. He gazed into my eyes for a moment, his lips forming into a victorious smile, before whispering, "Yuri, you are one troublesome woman."

He released the shadow possession jutsu before slowly leaning in to press his lips to mine. I was stunned at first, but I quickly allowed myself to relax into him when I realized how good his soft lips had felt. Without realizing what I was doing, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he let his hands linger on my hips.

The gentle kisses soon became deeper and more passionate. His tongue brushed against my lower lip, requesting entry, and I immediately obliged by parting my lips. Our tongues met in an electrifying dance that sent shivers down my spine and made my heart race. Our wet bodies pressed tightly against each other as we yearned for more. My mind went completely blank, conquered by the feeling of him; I don't even think I remembered to breathe.

Shikamaru began softy nibbling on my lower lip, and the shock waves of pleasure that pulsated throughout my entire body nearly caused my knees to give out. I let out a quiet moan, and I could feel his mouth contort into a satisfied smirk as he caught my lips in another deep kiss.

Suddenly recognizing the noise I had just made, I quickly pulled away from the kiss to hide my reddening face against his chest. He laughed lightly, but wrapped his arms around my waist and affectionately rested his head against the top of mine.

We remained in the forest in each other's arms for a few minutes before returning to Konoha.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Nervousness and Bad News

Author's Note: Ok, I don't know what came over me when I wrote this one hahaha.  
But oh well. Just enjoy the lovely Shikamaru love that I now present to you!  
Thank you again to Repentless Wind, as well as Icupcake97 for the amazing reviews! :D

**Chapter Eleven: Nervousness and Bad News**

I didn't want to wake up the next morning. I wanted to lay in bed forever and keep dreaming. The fact that it was Shikamaru in my dream did not bother me one bit, for the dream itself had been too amazing for that to matter. I moaned in disappointment as I rolled over and hugged my pillow, pressing my eyes tightly closed in a futile attempt to force myself back to sleep.

I quickly realized, however, that, as much as I wanted to drift back into the soft dream cloud that I pleasantly slept in all night, it wasn't going to happen. My vision was blurred with sleep, so I gently rubbed my eyes as I stretched my legs before sitting up.

I was surprised to find myself in an unfamiliar room. My first reaction was to jump out of the strange bed and figure out where the hell I was. When I thought about it, though, I realized that what I believed had been a dream was actually reality.

As I sat back down on the bed, trying to recover from the initial shock, I remembered what had happened. After we returned from the forest, the night air was so icy cold against our wet skin that Shikamaru had insisted on my staying at his house for the night. I lived another few blocks away, so I obliged, craving the feeling of warmth that a home provided.

I looked down at my body. I was wearing a large black t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. Shikamaru had given me some of his clothes to sleep in while my clothes dried off. Without thinking, I leaned my head down to sniff his shirt, detecting a slight hint of his scent. My eyes fluttering close, I fell back into the soft bedding and curled up in the blankets in a state of bliss.

A squeaking noise came from behind a closed door, and, instinctively, I lifted my head to examine it. For a moment, it was silent, but within a few seconds I heard the muffled sound of footsteps. The handle twisted, allowing the door to swing open to reveal a…

I gulped.

…_shirtless _Shikamaru.

He dried his dripping hair with a towel as he entered the room. Beads of water trickled from his shoulders down to his well-defined abdominal muscles, and his muscular, but lean arms flexed as he pulled the towel down to sling it over his shoulders. Luckily, I managed to wrench my eyes away from admiring his body before Shikamaru had noticed that I was awake.

"So you're finally awake," he smirked, sitting at the foot of the bed.

I coyly lifted my eyes to his and nodded.

Sensing my nerves, Shikamaru looked down at his bare chest and then back at me. "Would you be more comfortable if I… put a shirt on?" He suggested.

"Yeah, probably," I said, forcing a small, awkward laugh.

I watched him rise from the bed and turn his back to me as he headed for his dresser. The muscles in his back were perfectly toned, and I quickly found myself staring once again. I mentally kicked myself when the gray fabric of his shirt concealed his body from my eyes. _Why did I say yes? I'm an idiot!_

He took his seat back on the bed, but this time he chose a spot closer to me. "Better?" He asked softly as his lips slanted to form his trademark smirk.

"Y-yeah," I choked, my heart beginning to race at the thought of being so close to Shikamaru.

His smirk widened as he noticed my cheeks turning red. "Yuri, do I make you _nervous?_"

Not wanting to appear weak, I narrowed my eyes at him. "No way!" I barked as I turned myself around to avoid his teasing grin. He _did _make me nervous, but I didn't want to let him know that.

"Oh really?" I heard him challenge as he snaked his arms around my middle, causing my eyes to widen in surprise. Shikamaru pressed his chest against my back as he dipped his head to place soft kisses from my jaw line to the base of my neck. I couldn't help but inhale sharply when I felt his teeth graze against my skin in a pleasurable way.

My fingers gripped the bed sheets as his lips continued to send small pulses of nervous excitement throughout my entire body. I unintentionally leaned my head to the left in order to allow him better access. My eyelids fluttered close as I struggled to slow my breathing.

He pulled his lips away from my neck to gently brush them against my earlobe. "Relax," he whispered before gently biting and returning to my neck. His fingertips traced across my stomach, stopped for a moment to grasp my hips, then proceeded to rub my thighs. He was going so tantalizingly slow, but it felt so _incredibly _good.

When I felt his lips detach from my skin and his arms release their hold on me, I immediately let out a disappointed groan. Realizing what I had just done, however, my eyes shot open and my cheeks wasted no time in burning a dark shade of crimson. I turned around to a pleased Shikamaru.

"W-what are you doing?" I demanded, a terrified expression on my face.

Shikamaru smirked. "Don't act like you didn't _love _it."

I laughed in a sarcastic manner before assuring him that I did not enjoy it. He didn't seem to believe me. "You just… oh, shut up, Shikamaru!"

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru slid off the bed and proceeded to the bathroom. "Troublesome woman," I heard him mutter under his breath.

When my breathing had calmed, I replayed the morning happenings in my mind. _It felt so good… Why do I have to be such an idiot? Ugh!_

I shook the thoughts out of my head and rolled out of bed. I spotted my clothes folded neatly on top of Shikamaru's dresser, so I walked over and quickly replaced his baggy clothes with my own before he returned from the bathroom. He arrived just as I was pulling my jacket over my shoulders; his hair was now pulled back in the usual ponytail.

"What time is it?" I casually asked, preventing an awkward silence from taking over.

"9:55 AM," he replied as he rummaged through his dresser drawers for his vest.

My eyes bulged. "I have to go!" I shouted as I raced toward the front door. I was supposed to meet Hiroshi Sensei and the team at ten o' clock for another day of training. Fumbling to slide my feet into my shoes, I nearly tripped and knocked over a floor lamp in my haste.

"Where are you going?" asked a confused Shikamaru.

"I have to train!" I answered, bolting out the door and sprinting down the road. I felt bad for leaving Shikamaru so quickly. As much as I hated to admit it, I really liked Shikamaru, and I would have much rather stayed with him. But I had duties to my team, and I couldn't let them down. Not to mention I had told Hiroshi Sensei just the other day that I was going to work harder than ever. It would have been disgraceful if I broke my promise so quickly.

Somehow, I managed to travel across the entire village in less than five minutes, arriving at the training field in the knick of time. Miyuki, Katsu, and I stretched together while we awaited Hiroshi Sensei's instructions.

"Alright, team, listen up," he called, standing atop one of the wooden training logs.

We gathered around him and waited for him to continue.

"We're going to make today quick, because later, we have a meeting with Lady Tsunade, the Hokage."

"What for?" Katsu demanded, frustrated to hear that his training would be cut short today.

"She has serious news, and all shinobi are required to attend."

"What kind of serious news?" Miyuki asked, her eyes showing a hint of worry.

Hiroshi looked seriously at the three of us. "We believe that there are plans… to destroy Konoha."


	12. Chapter Twelve: Tsunade's Solution

Author's Note: Uh oh, it's about to go down in the Leaf Village!  
To all those who reviewed, thank you so much! I am very appreciative. :D  
Enjoy chapter twelve!

**Chapter Twelve: Tsunade's Solution**

We had only trained for a couple of hours before Hiroshi Sensei instructed us to gather our things and follow him to wherever Lady Tsunade's important meeting was taking place. I had practiced the chakra blade technique again, but had not made any significant progress. As I returned my kunai to my pouch, I found my mind focusing on what Hiroshi Sensei had told us earlier. The words echoed through my head: _"… plans to destroy Konoha."_

Miyuki, Katsu, and I followed closely behind Hiroshi Sensei as he headed for the meeting. Not one of us had muttered a single word. The possibility of our home being destroyed clouded our thoughts, rendering us speechless for the entirety of the walk. When we arrived, there were many ninja, from Genin to Jonin, and even the ANBU Black Ops, gathered to hear what the fifth Hokage had to say.

Katsu met up with Naruto soon after our arrival. Naruto's unwavering self-confidence and strength had inspired Katsu out of his nervous slump, and soon the two of them were pumping their fists in the air and yelling as if they had already saved the Leaf Village from destruction. I grinned in his direction. That was the Katsu that I knew.

I glanced at Miyuki. She stood with her feet facing inward, her hands clasped together in front of her mouth, and her eyes glued to the ground. It was obvious that she was deep in thought, and the terror in her eyes showed that she was not taking the situation as lightly as Katsu and Naruto. She let out a long sigh and let her eyes fall close for a moment. When she had reopened them, the terror that they once harbored had been replaced with acceptance and readiness. She stood tall as she awaited the Hokage's appearance.

"Hey there," I heard a familiar voice say from beside me.

I let my eyes travel in the direction of the voice. "Shikamaru!" I beamed, but my cheeks quickly reddened as I recalled the morning endeavors.

"You're not going to run away from me again, are you?" He teased, his lips curling into a grin.

I flashed him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry about that…"

He let out a small chuckle. "Don't worry about it," he told me as he shoved his hands into his pockets and took his usual nonchalant stance, "Man, it's so troublesome that we all have to be here."

"Y-yeah, I guess…" I reluctantly agreed. I didn't necessarily find the meeting _'troublesome,'_ but I didn't feel like arguing with Shikamaru at this point. My mind was too focused on more important issues to worry about something as insignificant as Shikamaru's indolence and carelessness.

"Attention shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"

The crowd of ninja had instantly cut their conversations short as their attention shifted to the voice. Lady Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, stepped in front of the crowd. She grasped a clipboard in her hands, but she did not look at it. Instead she faced everyone with a look of seriousness. Once everyone had quieted down, she resumed talking.

"As you all know, over the past couple of days I have sent teams of ninja into the forest to investigate suspicious activity."

My fists clenched as I recalled the day of our mission. What they had done to Miyuki and the defeat that I had almost suffered brought a twinge of foreboding to my chest. There were probably more men just like the two that we had encountered, and something in my gut told me that there were _lots_ of them. _I'll have to be careful not to rush into anything this time,_ I thought to myself; _I don't want anyone getting hurt this time around._

"After reviewing and analyzing the findings," the Hokage started. She paused mid-sentence to take a breath before continuing, "I'm afraid I have some very serious news."

A few people in the crowd let out tiny gasps, and others began quietly whispering to one another as they tried to guess what the 'serious news' was. I rolled my eyes, annoyed at the peoples' lack of respect for the Hokage and what she had to say. After a moment, Lady Hokage motioned for the audience to quiet down so she could continue.

"Apparently there is a rather large group of rogue ninja from the Land of Lightning who have created a headquarters deep within the forest that surrounds our village. They have plans to infiltrate and attack the village. Whether they plan to demolish Konoha or take it over, I don't know. But either way, we need to take action quickly before it is too late.

"All Jonin level ninja will be put into special teams to head into the forest to find and destroy the headquarters as well as the leaders of the operation. I will send half of the Chunin teams into the forest as well, but only to prevent outsiders from making it into Konoha. The rest will stay on the lookout within the gates of Konoha, just in case any ninja happen to make it into the village. All Genin will stay inside the village and will only fight if they are truly needed."

As I listened to the Hokage's words, I felt my heart sink within my chest. That meant that Hiroshi Sensei would not be a member of our team, but rather with other ninja of his own rank. My eyes wandered to Hiroshi Sensei, whose attention was focused on Lady Tsunade as he waited for further instructions. "Hiroshi Sensei," I said softly to myself.

"It's only for this mission," Shikamaru assured me as he placed a hand on my shoulder. He flashed me a sympathetic smile before returning his gaze to the front.

"All squads heading into the forest will be assigned a trained medical ninja to accompany them on their journeys. At this point, I am going to call each team of Chunin to come see me so that I can appoint your medical specialist. If I do not call your team, you have not been selected to go into the forest and will stay in Konoha as backup. Afterwards I will assign Jonin squads and appoint medical ninja. All Genin are free to go."

Lady Tsunade began calling teams as large groups of young Genin retreated from the crowd to return to the village. I anxiously waited to hear my name, hoping and praying that I would be selected to return to the forest. To me, being sent outside the gates of Konoha to protect the village meant that I was strong enough to be trusted with the lives of many people. It meant that my hard work and dedication really had been paying off like Hiroshi Sensei told me.

Shikamaru and his teammates were called almost immediately. I noticed him rolling his eyes and groaning under his breath before trudging slowly toward the front of the crowd. He obviously would have preferred to stay behind, for it meant that he wouldn't have to exert himself as much. But he was one of the most intelligent shinobi that I had ever known and a tactical genius, so it was literally impossible for Shikamaru to have been passed over.

When my name was called, I silently rejoiced with an excited smile, not wanting to make a scene. This was a serious issue after all, and I'm sure that no one would have appreciated my outburst. I found Miyuki and Katsu, and the three of us made our way through the throng of people until we stood face to face with the fifth Hokage. My heart was pounding in anticipation.

Lady Tsunade wasted no time. Immediately upon our arrival, she glanced at her clipboard and found our names. "The medical ninja assigned to your squad is Akira Ishii. She is right over there waiting for you." She pointed a finger to her right, causing our gazes to simultaneously shift to the new (and _temporary_) member of our team.

She was a tall woman. Her bright white hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and the waves traveled all the way to the small of her back. Her dark blue eyes glared from behind thin-rimmed rectangular glasses. She wore a short-sleeved kimono style red top with white accents, a black long-sleeved undershirt, and black pants that stopped just above her ankles. Bandages could be seen emerging from underneath the right leg of her pants and both of her shirtsleeves, covering her right foot and both of her hands. She appeared young, but she emitted an aura of maturity and experience.

Lady Tsunade began calling the names of the next team, which was our signal to go and meet our new comrade. When we approached her, she lifted her narrowed eyes from the ground to look at us. She examined each of us for a moment before smiling and waving hello. "Hi there, I am Akira Ishii, your assigned medical ninja."

I laughed as I noticed Katsu ogling her, his big, golden brown eyes shimmering as he gazed. He would have started drooling had I not punched his shoulder to knock him out of his trance.

We introduced ourselves to Akira and conversed for a few minutes, just getting to know each other and our specific strengths, before heading our separate ways for the day. We had planned to meet at the ramen shop in town at eight o' clock the next morning so that we could begin our mission.

The sun was still high in the sky by the time the meeting had commenced, so I decided to go for a walk around the village before heading home. I thought mostly of the mission and our new squad member. For some reason, I had a strange feeling about the woman that I couldn't quite recognize or pinpoint. I quickly attributed this to her replacing Hiroshi Sensei and pushed it out of my mind.

I kicked a pebble across the rocky path as I continued aimlessly through the streets of Konoha. I passed the market square where vendors tried to persuade me to buy the goods that they were selling. I gave in and purchased a dark red apple from the produce merchant. Sinking my teeth into the fruit, the juices filled my mouth with a sweet flavor before I tore off a large chunk. The food felt good in my empty stomach. I thanked the trader before I continued on my way.

I followed the path as I munched on the fruit, and I eventually found myself back at the training field. Somehow, whenever I allowed myself to roam around without direction or purpose, my feet always managed to take me to the field. Tossing the core of the apple into the distance, I allowed myself to lean against one of the wooden training logs. I looked at the sky, but there were no clouds today.

Sighing, I extracted a kunai from weapons holster. I took a few deep breaths before concentrating my chakra into my hand. With every passing second, I focused harder and harder, until I began to feel a slight burning sensation. I ignored the stinging and just focused on my chakra. I had to clench my jaw to refrain from crying out from the intense pain that I was feeling, but when I couldn't take it anymore, I let myself scream into the silent air, causing a flock of birds to scatter away into the sky. The pain became unbearable, and I had no choice but to stop. Exhausted, I fell to my knees, panting.

I let the kunai fall out of my trembling fingers, and it hit the ground with a muffled thud. "Damnit!" I growled in between ragged gasps for air.

"Such language from a lady," a voice joked from behind me. I immediately recognized it to be Shikamaru. His many surprise visits had conditioned my ears to his voice.

I didn't have the breath to answer him, nor did I have the strength to lift my arm to wave at him. I merely sat there in the dirt, my hand burning from the pain.

"You ok?" Shikamaru asked. I could hear his footsteps as he approached me, and soon he had positioned himself directly in front of me. He took one look at my right hand and a worried look washed over his otherwise bored expression. "Your hand is burned."

I managed to lift my eyes to his. "Thanks… for pointing… that out." I choked out sarcastically.

He reached into his pouch and pulled out some bandages and sanitizer. He carefully took my hand in his, trying not to touch my wounds. I winced in pain as he applied the cleaner to my burn, and he immediately apologized. When he had finished dressing my wounds, he placed my hand carefully in my lap. He smiled sympathetically as he used the pad of his thumb to wipe a tear that had squeezed out of my eye despite my attempts to keep it contained.

Cupping my face in his hand, he whispered, "You're going to be ok, Yuri."


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Memories

Author's Note: Don't really have much to say for this one except enjoy!  
Oh, and review? Your feedback makes me happy! :D

**Chapter Thirteen: Memories**

When the pain in my hand had subsided and the strength in my legs returned, I decided to continue my walk elsewhere, and since Shikamaru had been so kind as to take care of my burns, I invited him to join me. He tried to act like the invitation had only slightly interested him and that he had nothing better to do but to accept, but as he lifted himself to his feet, I noticed a smile creep onto his face. I laughed under my breath so he wouldn't hear me.

It was silent during the first few minutes of our walk. Shikamaru was staring off into space, tuned out of the real world, and I was too embarrassed by the thoughts of that morning to even consider striking up a conversation with him. _I can't believe he hasn't said anything about it. I was sure that he would have made fun of me by now… I mean, I'm glad that he hasn't brought it up, but… Ugh, he's so hard to figure out…_

I lifted my head toward the sky and guessed that it was somewhere around five o' clock in the evening. The sun was slowly lowering itself on the horizon, but it wasn't dark enough yet to call it a night. I sighed, taking in the warm sun on my face. There was no breeze, only warmth.

The bottoms of our shoes scuffed lightly against the road as we continued on our journey to nowhere in particular. My steps were slightly faster than his, for I had shorter legs than he did. In an attempt to entertain myself, I tried to sync my footsteps with his, and in the process was forced to lengthen my strides to an awkward length for my height. It wasn't long before I realized that the rhythm of our footsteps wasn't worth the hassle, and I quickly switched back to my original, more comfortable pace.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, I made an effort to make conversation. "So… how do you like your newly assigned medical ninja?"

"She's ok," he answered simply, shrugging his shoulders, "I just hope that we aren't forced to utilize her abilities."

I nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything.

"So about this morning…"

My heart began to pound immediately upon hearing Shikamaru's sudden change of subject. I had hoped that he wouldn't bring it up, but obviously merely _hoping _wasn't enough.

Shikamaru noticed my reaction and chuckled. "Relax," he told me, "I don't think you're weird or anything."

I breathed a sigh of relief, which caused him to laugh again. "You know I only did that because you basically challenged me, right?"

"Oh, I see, so you _didn't _want to kiss me this morning," I immediately countered, a smirk on my face. I was finally beginning to loosen up, and I made full use of it to put him in an awkward situation. _Payback!_

"No, well yeah, but… I mean..." Shikamaru stumbled over his reply as he racked his brain for the proper reply.

I burst out laughing. I had never in all the years that I'd known him heard Shikamaru fumble on his words before. He was generally very smooth with his replies and precise in his choice of words. Shikamaru shot me a dirty look before allowing himself to join me in laughter. I was glad to be able to forget about the awkward situation.

As our fits of laughter had died down, and the silence washed over us once again, I was surprised to feel Shikamaru's hand lightly brush against my uninjured one. Shock waves shot through my fingertips and filled every inch of my body, causing me to inhale sharply. I glanced over at him, and was relieved when he hadn't made any gesture that suggested he noticed anything. Sighing, I let my eyes wander back to the road we were traveling, and I quickly steadied my breathing. _I thought for a second there that he was going to hold my hand…_

"So," Shikamaru broke the silence, "what did you do to burn your hand anyway?"

I had nearly forgotten about my injuries, but at the mere mention of the burn I began to feel the slight throbbing sensation once more. I flexed my fingers in my bandaged hand. "A new technique I've been working on. I just haven't mastered it yet." I flashed him a smile, signaling that he had nothing to worry about. Shikamaru understood, and he didn't bring it up again.

Within another few minutes of walking, we were brought to a small park that the children of the village played at. I smiled, remembering how my father used to take me here when I was little. I looked around the area and frowned when I noticed that there was no longer a patch of lilies growing next to the large oak tree. Every day that I visited the park with my father, he would pick one for me and tell me that my mother named me Yuri after the lily, which was her favorite flower. He said that she called me her little flower.

The memory of my father, and the old story about my mother, caused my eyes to water. I quickly blinked away the tears, however, before Shikamaru had a chance to notice. I walked to the swings and took a seat, remembering how my father used to push me so high that I felt like a bird flying through the air. Smiling, I began gently swinging myself as I reminisced. I missed my father.

Shikamaru lowered himself onto the swing next to me. He used his feet to rock himself back and forth. I had my eyes glued on the ground as I was overcome with memories of my past. It took every ounce of strength within me to keep a waterfall of tears from spilling out of my emerald eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" I heard Shikamaru ask gently.

I forced my eyes shut without answering right away, knowing that I would start breaking down otherwise. When I felt the tears gradually leaving my eyes, it was safe to reopen them, so I turned my head to face him as I smiled. "Just… life."

Shikamaru nodded in reply, but his eyes suggested that they could into my soul. It was as if he knew that there was something more to my statement, but the hint of understanding in his gaze told me that he knew he should not push it, even to satisfy his growing curiosity. I looked away, my stare averting back to the ground.

The silence once again enveloped us. Kicking my shoes off, I plunged my feet into the sand and let the grains fall over the sensitive skin and in between my toes. I enjoyed the feeling, but it brought back even more memories of my childhood. I pulled my feet from the sand and slid them back into my shoes before I got the urge to cry again. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Shikamaru was still studying me. I let out a sigh. "I was thinking about my parents."

He gave me a look that said _'I'm curious to know more, but I don't know if I should ask about it.' _I sighed again, mentally preparing myself for the story I was about to tell and hoping that I wouldn't have much trouble fighting the tears that would come. Shikamaru listened intently when I told him about how I had lost my mother before I had gotten a chance to know her, and that my father was the only family that I ever had. He smiled when I told him about the memories of my father and I at the park, the story about the lilies, and when I had graduated from the Academy.

"I can see that you miss him quite a lot," Shikamaru whispered, "You don't see him much anymore, do you?"

My heart sank. This was the part that I was not looking forward to, the part that would make me burst into tears. "He's… dead."

Shikamaru was frozen. I could tell that he felt horrible and that he had no idea what to say next. I lifted myself to my feet, leaving the swing swaying gently, the rusting metal squeaking quietly as it moved. As I walked away from the swing set, I could hear Shikamaru rising to his feet to trail behind me. I headed strait for the giant oak tree. The bark was rough against my uninjured hand as I reached up to rest it against the trunk. From behind me, I heard Shikamaru's low voice mumble, "I'm so sorry."

I couldn't bring myself to face him, for I could feel the tears already starting to sting in my eyes. "It's alright," I choked. I couldn't stop my mind from remembering that horrible day.

_I had finally returned to Konoha after a week-long mission with my team in the Village Hidden in the Mist. Excited to see my father, I hurried home, despite the pain in my legs from all the traveling._

_When I had arrived home, however, I did not see my father. I called for him as I searched the entire house, but he was not there. Deciding that he was probably just out buying some groceries, I sat down on the living room sofa and waited for him._

_After about an hour, when he did not return, I started to get worried. I opened the front door and peered outside, hoping to see him, but he wasn't there. Closing the door behind me, I began to walk to the market. Maybe he had just gotten caught up with a friend or something. After all, he didn't know that I had returned, so he really had no obligation to be home. As I turned down the main street, I saw many people. I meandered through the crowd, searching for the familiar head of disappearing grey hair and those bright green eyes that matched mine._

_After a while of searching, I had no luck, so I turned back to head home, my head hanging in sadness. I reached my house, and was confused at what I had seen. Two older ninja, probably Jonin level, stood on my front porch conversing with each other. As I neared them, they turned their heads to face me, and a look of deep sadness filled their eyes. Right then, I knew something was wrong. I was terrified._

"_W-who are you?" I asked them, my voice trembling._

"_Are you Yuri Myoko?" One of them asked me. I nodded, and the two flashed each other a look before the ninja continued, "We're both terribly sorry, but while you were gone, your father had a heart attack."_

_My heart sank into the pit of my stomach, and my bottom lip began quivering as tears formed in my eyes. "H-he's going t-to be okay… r-right?" I managed to ask between quick, shallow breaths._

"_We're sorry," the other ninja said, "but he didn't make it."_

_My knees immediately gave out, and I let myself burst into tears right on the front steps. I buried my wet face in my hands as I sobbed. I wished that this was all just a horrible nightmare and I would soon wake up, but luck wasn't on my side that day._

"_Your father instructed us to give you this," one of the men said as they set the gift on the ground beside me. They expressed their sympathy once more before leaving me alone to cry._

_When I mustered the strength to wipe my eyes, I lifted my head to see what the men had left behind. In a small, purple-tinted vase were three lilies. There was also an envelope, which I quickly opened to pull out a small piece of paper. In my father's handwriting, it read:_

_My little flower –_

_The time has come for us to part. Please don't be sad.  
__Your mother and I will be waiting for you in Heaven, although I hope you don't join us here soon. You were meant to achieve greatness in life. Live for me, and don't forget that I love you more than anything else in the world._

As I slowly drifted back into reality, I noticed that tears were streaming down my face. Even after all the punches and kicks that I had been hit with throughout my lifetime, that was the worst pain that I had ever felt. I couldn't stop the tears once they had started.

Shikamaru must have noticed, for I could hear his footsteps approaching me. He gently tugged on my shoulder, and, my strength having left my entire body, I easily turned my body to face his. He pulled me into his arms, and this just caused the tears to pour out of my eyes even faster. He rubbed my back and whispered in my ear that everything would be ok. I merely collapsed into him, my tears soaking the shoulder of his shirt, enjoying the feeling of having a pair of strong arms to comfort me. We stayed like that until the sky became dark.

"I should probably get you home," he whispered in my ear.

I sniffled and nodded my head in agreement. The two of us walked home, and when we had reached my house, I wiped my eyes and flashed a smile to Shikamaru. "Thank you for putting up with me,"

Shikamaru surprised me by grabbing my hand in his and gently placing his lips to my forehead. He used his other hand to wipe a tear from my eye. "You don't have to thank me," he said softly.

As he turned to walk away, I felt his fingers slowly release from my own. They lingered there for a moment, unwilling to be separated, but soon pulled away until my hand was empty and lonely. I watched him as he shoved his hands into his pockets and headed for his home.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: The Mission

Author's Note: Thanks to all of you who reviewed! It made me happy. :D  
Hmm... I guess just enjoy chapter fourteen, and review?  
Pretty pleeease? :)

**Chapter Fourteen: The Mission**

The next morning, the sound of my alarm clock ringing had disrupted my slumber. I groaned, rolled over onto my side, and lazily peeked one eye open to check the time. It was 6:45 AM. Somehow I managed to lift myself into a sitting position despite my utter exhaustion. I wanted nothing more than to just fall back into my soft bed and curl up in the warm blankets, but today was the start of a brand new mission, an_ important_ mission.

I reached my hand over to press the off button on the device, and soon the annoying buzzing had ceased. I stretched my arms and legs before scooting to the edge of the bed and sliding onto my feet.

It only took me about a half hour to shower, re-bandage my right hand, put my hair up into a ponytail, and dress myself in dark brown Capri shorts, a navy long-sleeved t-shirt, and my Chunin vest. I strapped my pouch to my right leg after making sure that I had packed extra kunai, shuriken, and bandages, and I tied my headband around my forehead. Satisfied, I exited my bedroom and made my way to the kitchen.

Noticing that I had some time to spare before I had to meet with my team, I fixed myself a bowl of cereal. It had been a while since I had enjoyed an actual meal, so I made sure I savored it. After all, I didn't know how long this mission was going to take. I found myself thinking of the night before. Shikamaru was so caring to me. And I smiled when I remembered the feeling of his arms wrapped around me. I was certainly going to miss him while on this mission…

When I had finished eating, I washed my bowl and spoon in the sink and put the dishes back into their designated spots. The clock now read 7:45, so I slipped my shoes on and made my way out the door.

It was a clear day. There were only a few small clouds in the sky, and the sun was shining through the treetops on the horizon. It wasn't as warm today as it had been the last few days, but it was comfortable nonetheless.

I took my time on my walk, enjoying the fresh morning air, but I still made it to the ramen shop with a few minutes to spare. Miyuki was conversing with the new medical ninja, Akira, who was leaning nonchalantly against the side of the building. Katsu was nowhere in sight, but knowing him and his love for dangerous missions, he would be here on time. I approached my teammates with a small smile, which was returned by Miyuki with a wave. Akira merely nodded in my direction as a greeting.

"When's the little blonde kid going to show up?" Akira asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Miyuki and I flashed each other a skeptical look.

"It's not eight o' clock yet," I told her, "he'll be here."

Sure enough, just as I had finished my sentence, Katsu could be seen in the distance sprinting toward us. He had a huge goofy grin plastered on his face. "Hey guys!" He shouted to us as he waved his arms in the air.

Miyuki and I laughed at his antics, while Akira merely sighed.

"Alright," Akira started, "now that we're all here, we should get going. We can't waste any time."

We followed the medical ninja through the streets until we finally reached the forest. Following her lead, we concentrated our chakra to our feet to run up the tree trunks until we were high above the ground, soaring through the treetops.

"Keep your eye out below for enemy ninja," Akira commanded, "and _don't _fall behind."

There was something about her that I just didn't like. The way that she spoke to us was very… condescending. She was nothing like Hiroshi Sensei.

We continued leaping from branch to branch, our eyes scoping the area below as we whizzed through the forest. The day passed slowly, for we hadn't come across any other ninja. When the sun was no longer visible and the sky became dark, Akira told us to stop for a while and relax, so we lowered ourselves to the ground to find a confined spot to rest in.

I lay on my back and stared at the stars, my mind wandering. First I thought of Shikamaru, and then I wondered if Hiroshi Sensei had made any progress on his mission. When I heard some movement in the bushes, I turned my head to see Akira tiptoeing into the bushes. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what she was going to do, and reached out to shake Miyuki's shoulders. She let out a groan.

"Is it just me, or is there something… _off _about that Akira lady?" I whispered to her after she had rolled over to face me.

"What do you mean?" she grumbled, her words meshing together in her tired state.

"She's just… weird, I don't know."

Miyuki sat up and wiped her eyes free of sleep. "She's just not Hiroshi Sensei, that's all, Yuri."

Miyuki reassumed her sleeping position, and I lifted my eyes to gaze at the stars again. I nearly burst out laughing when Katsu snored so loudly that it echoed throughout the forest. Soon after, Akira returned from wherever she had gone and lay back down where she previously slept. I decided against pondering what she had done, and instead lifted myself to my feet and took a few steps away from my team. I didn't want to wake them.

Unzipping my pouch, I reached my hand in and pulled out a kunai again. I decided that I might as well train while the mission is slow, and I really wanted to perform the chakra blade technique. My right hand was still sore from the burn, so I decided to attempt the technique with my left hand.

I gripped the kunai and closed my eyes, breathing deeply and clearing my mind. When I believed that I was ready, I reopened my eyes and began focusing my chakra into my hand. At least that part was getting easier with time. When I had a large amount of chakra concentrated, I tried to extend it outside of my skin to the weapon. I grimaced; it was difficult reaching chakra into an area that was not actually a part of my body.

All the muscles in my body tensed as I attempted to remain in a concentrated state. I could feel the burning sensation beginning, but I did not stop. I was determined. Not wanting to wake my comrades, I had to stop breathing to refrain from crying out in a mixture of pain and physical exertion. Slowly I felt some of the focused energy leaving my body, and I knew the technique was starting to work. It filled the metal kunai within a mater of seconds. Now my only task was stretching the chakra past the blade.

I tried to force more energy into the weapon, hoping that would drive the chakra in the weapon further outside the blade. Much to my surprise, I could feel the chakra in my hand starting to drain, and I knew that the technique was succeeding. Carefully, without breaking concentration, I edged toward a tree and swung at the bark. Although I was too far away to hit the tree with the kunai's blade, there was a small gash in the trunk. Ecstatic about my success, I threw my hands in the air and jumped up and down, a big grin forming on my face. I had extended the blade about two inches.

Before I collapsed, I had to bandage my left hand, which was now burned as well. It didn't matter though, because I was finally starting to understand the technique. Even if the mission was a total bore so far, the progress I was making made up for it.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Betrayal

Author's Note: Well, here you go. You guys wanted to know what the heck was up with Akira!  
Thank you to those of you who reviewed the last chapter! Your feedback never ceases to make me smile. :D  
Enjoy this new chapter and, if you would be so kind, review?

**Chapter Fifteen: Betrayal**

We didn't rest for too long. After about an hour, Akira told us that we should get moving again, so we made our way to the treetops to continue our journey. It was very dark, so our search was now even more difficult; I could hardly see the ground, but we pressed on anyway.

"You'll need to concentrate even harder in the dark," Akira said. Her tone was hushed yet still had a bite to it.

I rolled my eyes. _Well obviously…_

"Is it possible to concentrate your chakra into your eyes to make yourself see better?" Katsu asked quietly.

Akira laughed under her breath. "I wouldn't try it unless you want your eyeballs to burn. The eyes are very sensitive, and it takes very careful control to regulate the right amount of chakra into the eyes to get the maximum effect without harming them."

I could hear Katsu gulp. He was probably just about to try it before the medical ninja's comment stopped him. I smiled to myself, shaking my head at Katsu's curiosity, before lowering my gaze back to the ground. Nothing. All that stared back at me was a giant black abyss of nothingness… well, minus the trees and leaves that I could barely see as I whizzed through the air. Rolling my eyes, I silently cursed my inability to see in the dark, and continued on.

A few minutes later, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a small glint of light coming from the ground. I averted my gaze to the source, and, after squinting and straining my eyes, I was able to make out two figures in the midst of the darkness. The moonlight caused their metal forehead protectors to shine, which enabled me to see them. I grinned, delighted to have finally found someone. "Down there!" I half-whispered as I balanced on a tree branch and pointed below me.

My comrades stopped moving as well and turned their heads in the direction of my pointer finger. "Cloud ninja," I heard Akira mutter.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Katsu asked with a smirk, "I've been _dying _to try out my new skills in battle!"

Without any objections, the four of us let ourselves gracefully fall directly in front of the rogue ninja. The closer distance allowed me to visualize them more clearly. Their cloud ninja headbands had a large gash in the middle of the metal, cutting through their village symbol. It was the classic sign of a ninja who has turned his back on his own village. The two were about the same height, but one was slightly bulkier than the other. They both wore masks to cover their faces, and they were dressed in all black. Upon our arrival, their eyes narrowed, but I could also detect a hint of a smile within their glares.

"Would you look at that," one of them said, "Riina's found herself a group of little punks to babysit."

I gasped, my eyes widening. _What the… why did they just call her Riina?_

The ninja laughed at his own comment, and his comrade joined him. When I heard Akira begin to snicker under her breath, I turned to her, gritting my teeth. "What's going on?" I demanded, "Why are you laughing? And how do you know these guys?"

"Oh calm down, you little brat," Akira spat.

"What did you call me?"

"Man, you really had them fooled, Riina," the other ninja commented with a smirk. He averted his gaze to Miyuki, Katsu, and I before continuing, "You actually got them to believe you were a leaf shinobi."

Instinctively, I backed away from Akira-or whoever this woman was-and stood beside Miyuki and Katsu. The looks on their faces indicated that they were just as confused as I was. "But… your headband-"

The aggravated woman interrupted Miyuki. "Oh please, are you really going to make me explain _everything _to you?"

"Go ahead! I'd _love_ to hear it!" Katsu growled, his fists clenched at his sides and his eyes narrowed into angry slits.

The woman motioned to the two rogue ninja, to which they responded with a nod before dashing off into the darkness. "Hey, we weren't finished with you!" I yelled at the two as I began sprinting after them. I didn't get very far before the medical ninja appeared in front of me. She moved so quickly it was almost as if she had teleported. Startled, I gasped and jumped backward, but she caught me by my jacket and threw me back towards my friends. I landed on the ground hard.

"Yuri!" I heard Miyuki and Katsu shriek in unison as they kneeled at my sides.

I managed to lift myself up, coughing as I tried to catch the breath that had been knocked out of me. When I was back on my feet, I slowly lifted my glaring eyes to her amused ones.

"I thought you wanted to hear my little story," the woman taunted us with a smirk.

Looking past her, all I could see was darkness. The two ninja had escaped.

Before she began to speak, she lifted her hand to grasp the hair in her low ponytail. She then gave it a little tug, and soon it slid over the top of her head to reveal a new face. Long locks of dark, bluish-tinted hair fell over her shoulders and down to the small of her back, and her dark eyes glinted against the darkness as she removed her glasses. She was a completely different person. Grinning at our surprise, she began to explain herself.

"My name is Riina Takeda. I belong to Kumogakure, which is located in the Land of Lightning. Years ago, as the war between the lands of Lightning and Fire was coming to an end, a peace treaty was signed, as you probably already know. However, there was a large group of Cloud ninja who opposed the treaty. _I _was one of them. We didn't want peace, so we vowed to continue the war and conquer the Leaf Village. When the Raikage was informed of our plans, he told us that we were to put an end to everything and that we were forbidden from breaking the treaty. The only way to satisfy our hunger for power was to abandon the village.

"We set up a hideout deep within the forest in which we all resided during the months of planning our attack. We knew that we had a disadvantage when it came to numbers, so it was obvious that attacking from inside the village would be the most effective way. It really wasn't hard to steal these headbands," Akira untied the Leaf Village headband from her forehead and threw it to the ground, "We just disguised a couple groups of our own ninja as weary travelers, and when we were inside the village, we snagged them from inside the training Academy."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. _But we caught two of them before they could return the headbands!_

"Some of our men were lost in the process, however, so not everyone was able to wear one for the attack. In order to compensate for this, our leader sent a few Cloud ninja into the Leaf Village to gather inside information. When he was informed of the Leaf Village's planned defenses against our invasion, he came up with the perfect plan. He sent the ninja who had acquired Leaf headbands into the village to pose as Leaf shinobi. This was where I came in, along with a few others."

"I get it," Miyuki said softly; Katsu and I turned to look at her as she explained, "you disguised yourself as Leaf ninja to earn our trust, only so you could allow other Cloud ninja a safe pass to the Leaf Village if we were to notice them. Once we were ready to fight them, you would expose yourself so that your comrades could continue on with the attack on Konoha, while you kept us busy."

"You're a clever one, I'll give you that," Riina snickered as she twirled a kunai around her finger. The blade made a quiet whizzing noise as it sliced the air in its path, and it gleamed evilly in the dim moonlight.

After listening to her tale, I could feel my blood beginning to boil as my lip curled in pure hatred. I wanted so badly to kill her, and it took every ounce of strength in my body to keep myself from lunging recklessly at her. I knew that doing so would accomplish nothing. She was obviously very strong, and we needed to plan every one of our moves carefully if we wanted any chance of success.

As Miyuki, Katsu, and I took our fighting stances, Riina began to laugh. "How cute. You really think you can defeat _me?_"

"Shut up!" Katsu roared as he charged toward her. He held two kunai in each of his hands, each of them pointed in Riina's direction. He threw a punch at her, but she merely stepped to the side and let him fly past her. She then lifted her leg to strike him with a powerful sidekick, causing him to cry out and stumble to the ground.

Her technique was executed perfectly, and all the while she kept a composed, yet amused look on her face. _She's strong, _I thought to myself, _but I can't let her do that to Katsu!_

While her back was turned to me, I quickly closed the gap between us. I grinned when she didn't seem to notice me. I wound up my right arm before sending my clenched fist speeding through the air toward the nape of her neck. Just before I could make contact, however, Riina ducked, lowering herself into a squatting position. From there, she whirled herself around to sweep my feet out from underneath me, sending me tumbling to the ground. It all happened so fast. I didn't even know what hit me.

A second later, I opened my eyes only to find that Miyuki was now attacking Riina. She whipped a few shuriken her way, but Riina dodged every one of them with ease. Miyuki then threw herself to the ground to slide into Riina's ankles, but the rogue ninja quickly jumped in the air to avoid it. Miyuki swiftly pushed herself back onto her feet and began charging in again. Riina didn't move. She merely waited.

When Riina managed to easily counter a crescent kick-sidekick-double punch combo with perfect ease and sent Miyuki flying through the air, I knew that she was a serious threat. She was, without a doubt, the toughest opponent we had _ever _faced.

"Is that all you children can do?" Riina questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. She let out a little yawn as she let her eyelids lower in a bored expression. "How disappointing. I was hoping you'd be more of a challenge."

Lifting myself to my knees, a smirk tugged at my lips as I shook off the initial shock of her last attack. "You're going to regret saying that."

That was a _promise_.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Team Hiroshi vs Riina

Author's Note: Ok, I'm sorry if this one isn't all that great. I'm not the best with combat scenes hahaha.  
Now that Akira-*ahem* _Riina_-has been exposed, enjoy chapter sixteen!  
Thanks for the lovely reviews on chapter fifteen! More would be greatly appreciated, especially on this chapter. I'd like to know if there's anyway I can improve writing fight scenes. :)

**Chapter Sixteen: Team Hiroshi vs. Riina Takeda**

I examined Riina as I lifted myself back to my feet. A few strands of her blue hair had fallen in her face, contrasting against her very pale skin. Her arms crossed over her chest and her feet were shoulder-width apart, a comfortable stance yet still sturdy and ready to fight.

I could tell, just by the way she looked, that she wasn't one to initiate in combat. She was the type of ninja who waited patiently for the other to strike so that she could evaluate their every move and counter it. Not only that, but the longer she dragged the fight on, the longer she would extend the amount of time that her comrades had to reach the Leaf Village safely. Her strategy had worked for her thus far, but I was determined to protect Konoha. We would have to end this quickly.

Rolling her eyes, Riina sniggered in our direction. "You really think you are strong enough to defeat me?"

"In case you haven't noticed, lady," Katsu yelled back at her, "it's three against one, so we obviously have the advantage here!" The way his lips quivered as he gritted his teeth at her, I could tell that Katsu's blood was boiling in anger. He was rather quick tempered, and sometimes his hotheadedness would cause him to make mistakes in battle.

Just as I had feared, Katsu charged toward Riina once again. "Katsu, don't!" Miyuki and I called after him simultaneously. We both knew that his reckless behavior could get himself hurt.

His anger, however, also created within him an incredible amount of power, and he was able to easily punch through Riina's defenses to land a blow to her chin. Appearing slightly surprised, Riina stumbled backward and covered her face with her arms. Hearing Katsu's angry cries, she was able to pinpoint his location and dodge his next attack without even looking at him. Katsu nearly tripped over a tree root as the momentum of his missed attack forced him to continue in the direction of the punch, but he was able to maintain his balance and locate Riina once more.

As Riina repeatedly blocked Katsu's punches and kicks, I decided that I needed to help him fight. After all, it would be even more difficult for her to fight the two of us at the same time, rather than just Katsu alone. Riina jumped into the air to avoid a sweep to her ankles, and I took the opportunity to throw a few shuriken her way. She must have heard me, though, for she swiftly grasped a tree branch from above her, flipped her legs up to balance on it, and then jumped to the left, avoiding all of my weapons. She landed gracefully on the forest floor before lifting her head to look at me.

Katsu and I jumped backwards toward Miyuki in order to create space between the woman and us. She tucked the loose strands of dark blue hair behind her ears before grinning at us. "Well, I'll admit, you caught me off guard there for a moment, but you'll need to do much better than _that _if you ever want to defeat me."

"Yuri, Katsu, listen to me," Miyuki said to us under her breath.

The two of us maintained eye contact with Riina, not wanting to give her any type of opening to attack us. "What is it?" I asked in a whisper.

"This woman is obviously very strong and very quick. Regular taijutsu alone is not enough to get through her defenses." Miyuki smiled before continuing, "I think we need to use the formation that we put together a few years ago."

I grinned at the idea. Our formation utilized techniques in genjutsu, ninjutsu, _and _taijutsu. My job was to cast a simple ninjutsu on the opponent. Katsu would then use his talents in taijutsu to attack the opponent without being countered, and while the opponent is focused on overpowering the ninjutsu and taijutsu, Miyuki would cast a special genjutsu over them without even being noticed. We had tried this only once before, and it worked then. I just hoped that it would work now.

"I'm in," I agreed softly. Katsu nodded his head in agreement as well, and the three of us took our places so we could begin.

"Now what are you doing?" Riina inquired, clearly annoyed.

In unison, the three of us announced our formation. "Formation: Team Hiroshi Rin!" Once finished with the name, it was time to begin.

I immediately performed a few hand seals and concentrated my chakra to execute a very basic paralysis ninjutsu. This particular jutsu did not hold for very long, but it didn't necessarily need to. My technique was merely the prelude to Katsu and Miyuki's specialties.

"Paralysis-"

Riina was unable to finish her assessment, for Katsu had already sprinted toward her and threw his first punch to her solar plexus. Howling in pain, Riina's limp body fell to the ground. Katsu continued to throw powerful strikes to her arms and legs, hoping to weaken them and render them useless. Her cries indicated that Katsu was succeeding.

Before Katsu could finish clobbering her left arm, however, the paralysis jutsu began to wear off, and Riina immediately took full advantage of it. She grabbed his right fist before it could make contact with her arm, and she promptly threw him off of her and into a nearby tree trunk. When she lifted herself back onto her feet, her usual look of composure was no longer present. It was replaced by a terrifying expression of fury.

"You little brats! I'll make you wish you'd never-"

Her anger subsided for a moment as utter confusion took over, causing her to stop midsentence. Surrounding her now was not just the thousands of trees of the forest, but also hundreds of ninja dressed in all black that were slowly closing in on her.

While Riina was concentrated on the paralysis jutsu and Katsu's attacks, Miyuki hid behind a tree to perform the Misty Follower Jutsu. Miyuki's mother was a shinobi native to the Village Hidden in the Mist before she moved to Konoha to marry Miyuki's father, a Leaf shinobi. After Miyuki had passed the final stage of the Chunin exams, her mother taught her the Misty Follower Jutsu and told her it would come in handy on tough missions. The jutsu creates eerie illusions of ninja, which continue to multiply as time passes. The idea is to get the opponent worn out by fighting the illusions instead of us.

"What the… where did all these ninja come from?" Riina shouted, assuming a fighting stance.

In order to make the illusions appear more realistic, Miyuki, Katsu, and I threw kunai and shuriken at Riina from within the crowd. To her, it would seem as though some of the illusions were actually throwing the weapons.

One by one, the illusions disappeared puffs of smoke as Riina landed attacks on them, all while skillfully dodging the weapons that we threw at her. For her to be able to move that fast after the attacks that Katsu had previously hit her with was unbelievable.

She was beginning to breathe heavily as fatigue set in, yet there were still hundreds of ninja plodding toward her. Reaching into her weapons holster, Riina pulled out a kunai and grasped it in her left hand. She first used the weapon to deflect a kunai away from her, then she reached out in front of her, positioning the sharp point toward herself.

"She knows it's just genjutsu," Miyuki told Katsu and I, "and she's about to break it. Retreat, quickly!"

We jumped back a few feet to create distance, and we observed our enemy. Without any hesitation, Riina plunged the blade into her stomach, wincing and shouting in pain. Blood began to spill out of her wound as she quickly extracted the knife, letting it fall out of her hand and into the dirt. She tried to lift herself to her feet, but the shooting pain forced her back down.

"That's quite painful," she muttered simply, examining her blood-covered fingers.

Katsu grinned triumphantly. "When you mess with Team Hiroshi, you're _bound _to get hurt!"

Riina inhaled and exhaled deeply. She lifted her left hand and placed it over her wound, cringing at first, and within a matter of seconds, a bright blue-green aura surrounded it and brought light to the dark forest. The pain on her face seemed to drain away as time passed, and soon she was able to smile back at us as if nothing was wrong.

"It's a healing jutsu!" Miyuki announced, terror evident in her voice.

Without delay, Katsu began racing toward Riina, his eyes back to narrowed slits and his victorious expression no longer present on his face. "Oh no you don't!" He delivered a swift kick to her left arm, which forced her to stop the healing jutsu. Before he had moved out of her reach, Riina leaned over to grasp his shirt in her hand. She lifted him off the ground and punched him repeatedly in the stomach.

"She's still in pain," Miyuki said to me. I examined her face and noticed that her expression was strained. "It looks like Katsu stopped her before she had completely healed herself. All we have to do is keep attacking her. She'll be too busy to perform any healing techniques on herself, and eventually she'll become too weak to continue fighting."

I nodded, signaling to Miyuki that I understood what she had said, and dashed toward Riina. She had to release Katsu from her grip to block my punches, and that gave Katsu a chance to retreat for a moment to recover. I kept her busy while Miyuki made her way toward Riina as well. She landed a few quick shots to the pressure points in her neck and arms, and quickly performed a few back handsprings to dodge the back kick that Riina executed in response to the shooting pain.

From up in the trees, I noticed a few shuriken fly mere inches away from myself and continue in Riina's direction. Riina performed a somersault in order to escape the weapon's trajectory, and effortlessly jumped back to her feet.

"Isn't it obvious?" the woman grumbed in between ragged breaths, a maniacal smile playing on her trembling lips, "You can't beat me!"

Her eyes bulged a moment later, however, as the same shuriken that she had previously dodged managed to find their way back to her and slice through the skin of her back and neck. She let out a loud cry, and blood began to drip from her new wounds.

As I let my eyes wander back to the treetops, which was where the shuriken had been thrown, I noticed Katsu with his fists held out in front of him. Emerging from his hands were tiny strands of wire shining dimly in the moonlight, and at that point I knew what he had done. He had used his Manipulated Shuriken technique to control the course of the flying weapons. Riina thought that she had dodged the weapons, when, in reality, Katsu wanted to miss her so he could surprise her with a sneak attack from behind.

While she was stunned, I glanced at Miyuki, who instantly understood what I wanted to do. The two of us positioned ourselves on either side of Riina. We then focused chakra into our hands and wound up for a killing blow to the neck.

"I told you that I'd make you regret challenging us," I snarled.

In Riina's eyes flashed a hint of fear before Miyuki and I simultaneously released our power and energy into her. We tossed her to the ground, and we each restrained her hands to prevent her from healing herself. When she had ceased choking and trying desperately to breathe, we knew that she was dead.

"We did it," Katsu breathed, a smile forming on his now excited face.

"Yeah," I agreed, reaching over to slap Katsu's extended hand in a high five.

But then we realized that we were now alone in the forest.


	17. Chapter Seventeen: The Mission Continues

Author's Note: Ahhh, I'm so sorry for the wait on this one! I went to upload this one yesterday, but for some reason my internet was being crappy.  
Then I was going to upload it earlier today, but I've been super busy all day and just now got the chance to get on here. :/  
So I'm terribly sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!  
And if you would be so kind as to review, despite my slow update, it would be greatly appreciated! :D

**Chapter Seventeen: The Mission Continues**

When our fight with Riina had ended, the three of us staggered away from her corpse to find a secluded area to rest. We settled for a spot behind a few tall bushes after walking for about ten minutes. Exhausted, our legs collapsed almost immediately. Miyuki and I rested our heads against the trunk of a large tree while Katsu sprawled out on the forest floor.

My hand was throbbing. The pain of concentrating chakra into it after practicing the blade technique was almost unbearable. I closed my eyes tightly, fighting against the stinging sensation so that it would not overpower me. I flexed my fingers in an attempt to get the blood flowing into them, but it only increased the pain I felt, so I quickly stopped and let my hand fall limp in my lap. Tears threatened to squeeze out of my eyes, but I managed to hold them back. I had to be strong for my team.

The sun slowly began to rise, and the light shone from behind the millions of leaves in the trees. The forest was quiet. No birds sang happy melodies, and no gentle breeze created the rustling sound that I found so comforting. Only the sounds of our now quiet breathing could be heard.

I found my mind wandering once again. I remembered that strange feeling that I had gotten about Riina. If only I would have trusted my intuition, we might have been able to avoid all the trouble that she had caused. Perhaps if I had brought it up to Lady Hokage before we had even left the village, she would have realized that she was not Akira Ishii of the Leaf Village. She could have done something about it, but I didn't speak up. Biting my lip, I now fought both the pain of the burns on my hands, and the pain of the guilt in my heart.

"Yuri, what's wrong?"

I gasped and shot my teary eyes to meet Miyuki's gaze. The look on her face was sympathetic yet curious, and her light blue eyes glistened with a few tears of her own.

"It's all my fault," I finally choked out.

She appeared confused by my response. "What do you mean?"

"I could sense that something wasn't right about Riina, and yet," I paused to blink away the tears, but to no avail. The salty liquid escaped from both of my eyes, gliding down my cheeks and dripping from my chin. "I did nothing about it… until it was too late."

"That's not true," Miyuki shook her head, placing a hand on my shoulder, "remember last night, you tried to tell me, but I didn't listen."

"I could have told the Hokage…" Hugging my knees into my chest, I lowered my head to hide my face. I desperately wanted to calm myself, for the last thing my teammates needed right now was to see me lose all control and break down. Suddenly, I felt two hands resting on my upper back, the one on the right smaller than the one on the left. Both Miyuki _and _Katsu were trying to comfort me now.

"Hey," Katsu murmured, "Everything is going to be fine. Don't worry."

The two wrapped their arms around either side of me to capture me in a group hug. The sadness began to melt away in their embrace, and I soon found myself smiling as the love of my two best friends radiated from each of them and into my heart. "Thanks, guys," I said.

After about a minute, when my eyes were free of tears, we released each other from our arms. The three of us then resumed our previous positions.

"So," Miyuki sighed, "What are we going to do now?"

"We continue the mission, of course!" Katsu answered her, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. I grinned at him.

"Yeah, but do you think it's safe? Continuing the mission by ourselves…"

"Aw, come on, Miyuki," Katsu whined, "We can do it!"

"We are Chunin, after all," I added, "we should be able to take on a mission by ourselves."

Miyuki raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, then let out a long sigh. She was always a little skeptical when it came to missions. While Katsu and I were ready to charge into unknown territory in search of a fight, Miyuki would always carefully weigh the consequences of our actions and try to talk us out of anything reckless. She was so soft spoken, however, that Katsu and I almost _always _talked her into whatever scheme we had planned.

"Oh, alright," Miyuki finally agreed, earning an excited yell from Katsu, "we should probably get going, then. Staying in one place for too long can be dangerous."

We then lifted ourselves to our feet and brushed the dirt off of our clothes. The large tree that Miyuki and I had rested ourselves against was big enough for all three of us to climb up, and once we were high above the ground, we began traveling. My eyes were glued to the ground in hopes that I would spot an enemy.

As we leaped from tree to tree, I could see nothing but twigs and bushes on the ground. Occasionally I would catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye that would enthuse me, but it was never anything more than a bird leaving its nest to find food. I groaned, wondering if today would turn out to be just like yesterday.

As the hours passed, the sun rose higher into the sky, and still there was no one to be found. Despite being shaded by the trees over our heads, it was still a very hot day, and I quickly began to drip with sweat. Our movements became somewhat sluggish in the heat, and we soon had to stop to rest. We dropped to the ground and leaned against tree trunks for support.

"I have water," Miyuki told us as she unzipped her backpack. She pulled out a large canteen and passed it to Katsu. He quickly sipped the water and handed it to me. The hot sun had warmed the container and the liquid inside it, but it didn't matter. The feeling of wetness against my dry throat was all I needed. Once I had taken a drink, I returned it to Miyuki, who then took a sip of her own.

"What would we do without you, Miyuki?" I asked as I flashed her a grateful smile.

"We'd die of thirst, obviously!" Katsu replied.

"It was a rhetorical question, genius," I laughed as I reached over to shove him playfully.

He was still a little unsteady from the humidity, however, so he ended up stumbling backwards until he tripped over a large tree root that protruded from the soil. I giggled at this, but quickly made my way over to my comrade to apologize and help him stand back up.

"You're _so_ graceful, Katsu!" I laughed, reaching out my hand to offer him assistance.

He flashed me a look that suggested that he was not very happy with what I had done, but he soon joined me in laughter. He was never very skilled at keeping a straight face. Grasping his hand in mine, I pulled him back to his feet, wincing as the pressure bothered my burns.

"Yuri, Katsu, look at this!"

Our laughter ceased as we turned our heads to face Miyuki, who was standing a few feet to the left of where Katsu had fallen. She was kneeling on the ground, her hands pushing aside branches and leaves as she appeared to search for something inside of a large bush.

We walked in her direction and then peered over her shoulders as we stood behind her. Concealed within the bush was a hole in the ground, but it wasn't the work of a gopher or snake. It was big enough for a _person_ to fit into. We couldn't see much from our position, but the sight of a Cloud ninja headband with a gash through the metal lying forgotten on the ground was enough to convince us that this was an enemy hideout.

"What should we do?" Miyuki whispered.

"We should go in there and check it out!" Katsu immediately responded. I could tell that he was eager to find out what was inside.

Miyuki turned her body to face us, letting the leaves camouflage the hideout. The look in her eyes told me that she was very unsure. "We don't know what-or who-is down there. There could be an army of enemy ninja just waiting to ambush us. It's _not _safe. I say we return to Konoha and report this-"

Before Miyuki could finish her suggestion, Katsu stepped over her and dove into the hole before either of us could stop him. "Katsu!" Miyuki and I shouted in unison.

The two of us exchanged terrified glances as we racked our brains for our next move. I wanted to go after Katsu, but my body was frozen. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Katsu's voice echoed from within the hideout. "This place is huge! Yuri, Miyuki, come check this out! It's empty, don't worry!"

We sighed in relief before sliding down through the opening. A small tunnel brought us lower beneath the surface of the earth, and soon we reached an enormous open area surrounded by clay walls. In the center of the room was a large table with a few chairs surrounding it, and on the right wall was a detailed diagram of Konoha and the forest with thorough explanations of the plan to conquer it. The room was illuminated with a few wall lamps surrounding the space.

"Wow," I uttered, my voice echoing in the vast empty space.

"I'm assuming this is the headquarters," Miyuki said as she scanned the diagram on the wall, "we have to return to the village and report this to Lady Tsunade."

Katsu and I nodded in agreement. The three of us then turned on our heels to head toward the tunnel to exit the underground hideout, but an unfamiliar presence stopped us from doing so.

Standing in our way was a tall, tan-skinned man. His spiky hair was dark with a violet tint to it, and his eyes were pitch black with red liner coloring his upper lid. There was a long scar that went up the right side of his face that stopped just before his eye. He wore a long purple robe with black striped accents on the sleeves and down the sides. It was left open, and underneath it he wore a white long-sleeved shirt and black slim-fitted pants. On his hands he wore black gloves with strange red markings on them, and strapped across his body was a sheathed katana with red grips on the hilt.

His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at us with his narrowed eyes. "Well, well, looks like I have a few visitors." His voice was calm and smooth.

"Who the hell are you?" Katsu demanded, protectively stepping in front of Miyuki and I. He raised his fists into a defensive position, and we instantly did the same.

An evil smile formed onto his thin lips. "My name is Zakuro Kobayashi, and I'm the leader of the rogue ninja of Kumogakure."


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Toughest Opponent Yet

Author's Note: Ugh, I really hate being super busy.  
Anyway, I apologize if I am not able to update super quickly from now on. College is starting up and I really don't know how busy I will be...  
Hopefully not much. ;) Haha, anyway, I'm in the process of moving and so life has been kinda hectic lately, but I'm trying my best to keep the updates coming.  
Enjoy chapter eighteen! Reviews would be amazing! They would be greatly appreciated! :D

**Chapter Eighteen: The Toughest Opponent Yet**

My eyes bulged upon hearing his response. We were standing in front of the _leader _of this _entire _operation. His appearance alone was very intimidating, and I was sure that he had to have been extremely powerful-even more so than Riina, or anyone else we had ever fought, for that matter.

A nervous shiver shot through my spine and traveled down my arms and to my fingertips. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Miyuki was quivering, and I started to feel guilty. I really should have listened to her when she suggested we return to Konoha to report the hideout instead of exploring it ourselves. Now she had to suffer the consequences of a mistake that she didn't even make.

Katsu still had a look of determination on his face, but I noticed a glint of fear flicker in his golden eyes when the man introduced himself. I knew that he was scared, but he was the type of person who never expressed fear, even in the most terrifying situations. He quickly blinked the terror out of his eyes and replaced it with hatred for the man that stood so threateningly in front of us.

"So you're the one that started this whole thing," Katsu growled in a low voice, his breathing quickening as his hatred grew with every passing second.

Zakuro merely smirked in response. He seemed to enjoy the effect that his presence had on Katsu.

"I'm going to kill you!" Katsu shouted as he began to charge toward the man. He clenched his fists as he prepared to attack.

"Katsu, stop!" Miyuki and I yelled simultaneously. We both knew that there was no way this man would be taken down by a few punches and kicks. We needed a well-planned strategy to even have a _chance _at defeating him. Katsu was just going to get himself hurt rushing into battle like that.

He aimed a punch for his chest, but the man was so quick in his movements that he had already moved behind Katsu by the time he had reached him. Zakuro didn't bother attacking Katsu back. He just dodged every one of Katsu's attacks so quickly that Miyuki and I even had trouble tracking his movements. The man must have gotten annoyed, however, for after a few minutes he punched Katsu in the stomach so hard that it sent him stumbling backwards until he had fallen right in front of us.

Miyuki and I helped Katsu return to his feet while Zakuro crossed his arms over his chest. He had a bored expression on his face. "Is that _really _the best you can do?"

I felt Katsu's muscles tense as he heard the man's words. To keep him from sprinting back into battle, I gripped his arm tightly in my hands.

"If the Village Hidden in the Leaves had to resort to sending the likes of _you _into battle," Zakuro said in a calm voice, "then there's no doubt in my mind that we will be victorious in our conquests."

I was desperate to keep Katsu calm and to refrain him from attacking, but when he spoke those words, I found myself wanting to kill him as well. A part of me, somewhere deep down inside of me, knew that he was only trying to get some sort of reaction out of us for his own twisted pleasure, but I just couldn't keep my eyes from narrowing in his direction. I couldn't stop my fists from clenching so tightly that my knuckles turned white. And I couldn't help but grit my teeth as I imagined Konoha being taken over by _him._

"Shut up," I said under my breath, and yet part of me wanted him to hear it.

The smirk that played on his lips signified that he had heard what I said. A twinge of fear shot through my body at the sight, but I quickly shook it off. I couldn't be afraid. I needed to be strong for my village, and panicking would only get in the way.

"Talking that way to your soon-to-be leader will only make things harder for you in the future," the man spoke as though his ruling over Konoha was absolute. The fact that he was underestimating not only us, but also our entire Village only made my anger toward him increase. Katsu's entire body was now trembling, and I found it difficult to maintain my hold on him.

The man took a look at Katsu and his grin widened. He obviously enjoyed toying with Katsu's emotions. "Such an angry boy," he commented. He then pursed his lips, as if in thought, and after a moment he resumed talking in his relaxed, but sinister, voice. "How about I make you three a little deal."

_A deal? What kind of deal could someone like _him _possibly make to us?_

"All you have to do is join me, and I'll make your lives so much easier in the future."

"Are you crazy?" Katsu roared, his voice echoing throughout the large room. He managed to break free from my hold and began sprinting again toward the man. My heart began pounding in my chest as I began to worry for Katsu.

Jumping into the air, Katsu attempted to land a flying side kick on the man with his right foot. Not surprisingly, Zakuro stepped to the side and let Katsu fly past him. He skidded as he landed and immediately returned to throw a few punches at Zakuro.

"Katsu, get back here!" I screamed, my fingers trembling by my sides. I knew that this man could kill Katsu whenever he pleased. It was just a matter of time before he would grow bored of dodging Katsu's attacks, and once that happened, he would waste no time in taking his life.

He didn't listen to my pleas, nor did he listen to Miyuki's cries. "It may have been easy for you to just abandon your friends, your family, and your village," he said, "but that's _not _how we treat the people that we care about!"

Zakuro swiftly blocked each of Katsu's attacks, his lips twitching to form a small smile in the process. Eventually, Zakuro kicked his leg to hit Katsu's ribs with his shin. I cringed as I witnessed the hit. A second later, however, a puff of smoke appeared to reveal that Katsu had used a substitution jutsu, and he suddenly appeared behind Zakuro while the chair that had taken his place fell over with a thud. A battle cry bellowed from in between his gritted teeth as he landed a punch to the back of Zakuro's head.

The enemy was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. He managed to duck down to avoid a kick to the head, and as he did this, he whipped himself around to sweep Katsu's feet from underneath him. Thankfully, Katsu noticed his movements fast enough to jump in the air, avoiding the attack.

Miyuki and I decided to contribute by throwing a few kunai and shuriken in the man's direction, careful to aim where we would not hit our friend. Without looking, Zakuro dodged the first two weapons, which I threw toward his knees, and while he did this, he somehow managed to unsheathe his sword quickly enough to use it to deflect the others. This guy was so fast… it was a miracle that Katsu managed to hit him.

As Katsu jumped in the air to avoid an attack, I noticed Zakuro raise his fist to punch Katsu, and as he did this, there was a small glint of light coming from in between his fingers. His fist collided with my comrade's stomach before he had a chance to react, causing him to double over in pain. Zakuro then lifted his right leg to thrust Katsu back into our direction.

Miyuki promptly kneeled beside him while I protectively moved myself in front of my friends. Katsu was struggling to breathe. He attempted to keep his cries under control, but it was evident that he was in extreme pain. Miyuki started examining Katsu's injury.

"Notice anything special about that wound?" Zakuro questioned in Miyuki's direction. He began slowly making his way toward us as he returned his katana into its sheath.

After a moment, Miyuki let out a gasp before looking at me with worried eyes. "It's poison," she whispered.

_So that's what the light from his fist was coming from. He held tiny poisonous needles in between his fingers when he punched Katsu. _

"Smart girl," Zakuro simpered, "I injected a deadly poison into his body. Soon he'll lose consciousness, but it should only take a few minutes for the full effect." He didn't even have to explain to me what the full effect of the poison was, for the evil look in his narrowed eyes told me everything.

_Death._

Katsu's breathing was quick and shallow, and his body was shaking heavily as he struggled to stay conscious. He tried to use his arms to lift himself up, but the pain was too much for him to handle.

Zakuro's menacing smile grew wider. "Moving will only hasten the poison's effects. Stay still and enjoy this moment, for it will be your _last._"

"Shut up!" This time I screamed at Zakuro. I knew in the back of my mind that I should not have sprinted toward him, and that I should not have raised my fist to swing at his head, but my body didn't seem to care. I punched and kicked with all my strength, but to no avail. I quickly realized that my attacks were no good. Before he had the chance to poison me like he had done to Katsu, I jumped back a few feet to separate us.

My hands clenched tightly. I wanted to kill him so badly, but I couldn't do it alone. Miyuki and I needed to attack together…

_That's it!_

"Yuki," I whispered, "I have an idea."

She rose to her feet and stood beside me.

"We need to do our-"

"Combination transformation," she finished.

"Yeah," I smiled at the fact that she knew me so well that she understood what I was thinking before I had even put it into words.

The combination transformation was a little something that Miyuki and I practiced on our own every now and then. Hiroshi Sensei had explained that two people, or even a human and an animal, could use their combined chakra to transform into a powerful creature. When we heard this, we immediately decided that we wanted to master the technique. We had never used it in an actual battle situation before, and we certainly hadn't perfected it yet, but when someone as powerful as Zakuro was involved, we needed something _big._

We linked our arms and began focusing our chakra, then performed the hand seals. Zakuro had an intrigued expression on his face, wondering what it was we were going to do. When the seals were complete and our chakra was coursing through our bodies, we said in unison, "Yuri-Yuki Combination Transformation!"

In a puff of smoke, we slowly began to fuse into one being, growing so large that we almost filled the entire room. There was a loud crash as our feet stomped on the ground, crushing the table in the center of the room, and when the smoke cleared, what we had become was now visible. We had transformed into a giant komodo dragon.

I was angered when I didn't notice any change in his expression. We were still working on the technique, so we didn't have perfect control over the creature yet. I controlled the right half of the dragon, while Miyuki controlled the left. I concentrated my strength to lift the right arm and swing it into Zakuro's direction. If he hadn't rolled out of the way when he did, I certainly would have hit him.

"Cute trick," Zakuro laughed, "now let me show you what I can do."

He unsheathed his sword and held it out in front of him.

_You think a little sword is going to cut through our tough scaly body?_

He then bit his thumb and wiped the dripping blood against the entire length of the sharp blade.

_What's this?_

Smirking in our direction, Zakuro then gripped his sword in both of his hands. "Summoning Jutsu!"

_Oh great…_

Within seconds, a puff of smoke clouded the other half of the room, making it impossible to see what he had created. When it finally cleared, I noticed that his sword had become a giant hot pink colored millipede with large spikes covering its entire body.

"This is the Pink Dragon Millipede," he explained, "don't be fooled by the color. It is the largest and most dangerous of all 23 species of dragon millipedes."

_A millipede? Seriously?_

Combining our movements, we managed to turn the body of the komodo dragon to swing the giant scaly tail in the direction of the insect, expecting the impact to send it flying into the wall. However, one of the spikes managed to puncture into our tough skin, and the pain caused us to stop the attack before we had actually finished.

"Attacking like that won't do you any good," Zakuro grinned, "the spines covering its body are razor sharp, and can pierce any living creature's body, no matter how strong."

Suddenly, the millipede turned its head to face us, and it sent a large glob of mysterious goo flying from its mouth and in our direction. Miyuki and I began to turn away to avoid the substance, but a tiny bit managed to graze the skin of our left shoulder, which was the half that was under Miyuki's control.

She let out a shrill cry, causing the creature that we were fused into to roar loudly.

"Oh yes," Zakuro said, "I forgot to mention that the Pink Dragon Millipede has the ability to shoot cyanide from its mouth."

_Cyanide?_

"Cyanide is a fast-acting, potentially deadly chemical that prevents the cells of the body from using oxygen properly. When this happens, the cells die."

The komodo dragon continued to roar as Miyuki struggled against the effects of the chemical. I became so enraged by the attack that I swung the komodo's right arm in the insect's direction. At the last second, however, I switched my focus to Zakuro. Catching him off guard for that split second, I was able to send him flying through the air until he collided hard with the wall. He slid down the length of the clay surface until he landed on the ground.

I immediately began for another attack, but Zakuro was able to quickly move out of the way to dodge it. I was only able to control half of the komodo dragon's body, so now that Miyuki's injuries prevented her from doing much, it was very difficult maneuvering the large creature. Unable to do much more, I kept swinging the right arm in the man's direction, but to no avail. The millipede's many legs moved the insect in front of its master, which caused me to hit its sharp spikes rather than he who I was actually aiming for.

I cried out as I wrenched the arm out of the spike. It nearly cut completely through the bone. As if I had enough to worry about with just the burns on my hands, now I had a giant gash cutting halfway through my right hand. The pain quickly became unbearable, and soon Miyuki and I were crying out in unison. The komodo dragon's deafening roars expressed our pain for us.

Unable to keep our concentration with our pains, we soon began to separate into our own bodies. Miyuki fell to her hands and knees, her breathing quickening, while I managed to stay on my feet. I pressed my hand against my chest, hoping somehow that would alleviate some of the pain.

It didn't.

"Aw, that was no fun," Zakuro smirked.

"I… I'm s-sorry," Miyuki choked. She quickly became so weak that she could no longer support herself with her hands, and she fell to the ground.

"Miyuki!" I shrieked.

"Looks like it's just you and me now."

I lifted my narrowed eyes to glare at the man who had hurt my two best friends. It was as if this was some sort of twisted little game to him, and each of us was a player, fighting to be named the winner. But he was the creator of the game, and knew all of the tips and tricks to reach the finish line. The fact was that I didn't stand a chance against him alone. Without Miyuki and Katsu, I was sure to lose.

"You forgot someone."

My eyes widened upon hearing the voice.

_Shikamaru!_

I turned my head to confirm that Shikamaru had somehow found his way down into the hideout. He was positioned in a strong, sturdy stance with his hands forming a hand seal. Along the floor ran his shadow, which stretched along the length of the floor to capture Zakuro in his famous shadow possession jutsu.

Zakuro smiled and simply said, "I guess I have."


	19. Chapter Nineteen: All or Nothing

Author's Note: I am _so _incredibly sorry for posting this so late. I have such crappy internet where I am staying that I can't even really connect at all.  
To express my apologies to you all who have been so amazing, I will be posting the next chapter _tomorrow._ I promise. :)  
Anyway, now that I have internet (I came home for labor day weekend), I can post the next chapter for you all to (hopefully) enjoy.  
So yes, please forgive me for the late update, it's just my crappy internet. Enjoy, and review please! Thank you all so much! You're amazing! :D

**Chapter Nineteen: All or Nothing**

I quickly sprinted back to stand beside Shikamaru. His hands were pressed in the 'Ne' hand seal, which, I noticed, was typically used in the Nara clan's shadow manipulation techniques. His eyes were narrowed, and his face was stern as he maintained concentration.

Despite his inability to move, Zakuro kept a composed expression on his evil face. His lips stretched to form a slanted smile, and his black eyes examined Shikamaru. "This is interesting," he said, "I've never witnessed the shadow possession jutsu in combat before. It's not quite what I expected."

"Well that doesn't really matter now, does it?" Shikamaru retorted with a grimace, "What matters is that I've got you under my control, so you might as well cooperate."

I was surprised at Shikamaru's ability to handle such a serious situation so proficiently. He managed to slip into the area unnoticed and effortlessly capture Zakuro in his shadow possession jutsu. I obviously had no idea what the _hell_ I was thinking before when I accused Shikamaru of being just a 'lazy-ass shinobi.' He was, without a doubt, one of the most skilled ninja I had ever met, and he had saved my life multiple times now. Without him, I probably would have already been killed.

What annoyed me most about Zakuro was the mere fact that _nothing _affected him. He couldn't attack us, hell, he couldn't even _move, _and yet he kept that sinister smile plastered to his face. I subconsciously clenched my fists at this before turning to Shikamaru. "Want me to handle the rest?"

Shikamaru didn't look at me. He kept his eyes on Zakuro to make sure he kept his focus centered on immobilizing the enemy. "Don't worry about it," he answered, "I've got it covered."

I turned to face Zakuro once again to witness Shikamaru's next move. From the shadow on the ground, large black silhouettes of hands snaked their way up Zakuro's legs. They climbed the height of his body, stopped at his neck, and then began to gradually tighten their grip. Shikamaru was literally strangling Zakuro with his shadow. I gaped at the sight; He really was incredible.

To my surprise, Zakuro's face maintained its composure. I rolled my narrowed eyes at him, and as I did, I noticed the reason why Zakuro had nothing to fear. I had momentarily forgotten the giant millipede standing a few feet away from Zakuro, and when I averted my gaze to the hot pink insect, I could see that it was ready to charge in our direction. When its many legs began to transport it quickly across the room, my eyes bulged. It was aiming the sharp spines on its head toward us. "Shikamaru!" I yelled as I grasped the collar of his Chunin flak jacket. I swiftly yanked him out of the way of the stampeding millipede, the two of us rolling across the floor.

Shikamaru was forced to break his concentration, which meant the jutsu had been broken. Zakuro was now free to move as he pleased. "Close call," he commented.

"Damnit!" Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

I struggled to slow my breathing. "You ok?" I managed to ask.

He nodded and then flashed his eyes in my direction before saying, "Thanks for that."

I didn't have time to respond, however, for the giant millipede again began charging in our direction. I quickly pushed Shikamaru out of the way, but one of the razor sharp spikes sliced the skin of my left arm as I tried to maneuver myself out of the way. A shrill cry escaped my lips as I gripped my newest injury in my burning hand. The pressure made both of my wounds sting.

The insect was blocking my view of Zakuro, so I quickly used that moment to create a few clones of myself. I knew that I had to go after Zakuro, and I figured that if the clones could keep the insect occupied, I would have a chance to do so. The pain shooting throughout my entire body made it difficult for me to perform the hand seals, but I managed to muscle through it, and in a matter of moments, two clones appeared by my sides. With my injuries, even a simple clone technique managed to tire me out. I instantly doubled over and tried desperately to catch my breath.

One of my clones began running into another direction. The movement intrigued the millipede, and it immediately began crawling behind the clone. Meanwhile, I sent another clone toward Zakuro in my place while I stayed behind with Shikamaru to ask, "Can you do you shadow possession jutsu again?"

"I can try," he replied, "try to distract him. If he's focused on you, he might not notice the jutsu, so I'll be able to possess him easier."

I nodded before running in Zakuro's direction. I suppose I didn't necessarily have to attack him, but when I saw that stupid grin on his face I couldn't help but clench my hands into tight fists and begin swinging at him. My movements became somewhat sluggish as my arms throbbed painfully, but I tried to ignore it. I was _not _going to give up.

This time, instead of just dodging my attacks, he decided to throw a few punches back at me. Initially, this surprised me, but I somehow managed to block each one of his attacks. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Shikamaru back in his wide stance as he stretched his shadow along the ground. Knowing that I had to keep the man occupied, I whipped my fist in the direction of Zakuro's head. His eyes averted to my fist for just a moment, and in that moment I used my other hand to strike his gut. I thought for a moment that my attack was going to get through, but he managed to block my second strike at the last second.

Zakuro must have noticed the shadow possession jutsu, for he reached out to grab my Chunin vest and throw me right in the direction that Shikamaru's shadow had been approaching him. I was momentarily caught in the jutsu, and I was unable to move. "Shikamaru!" I screamed, terrified at what Zakuro might do to me in this state.

Shikamaru quickly retracted the shadow, giving me just enough time to dive out of the way of a kunai that Zakuro had swung in my direction. Taking a moment to catch my breath, I kneeled on the ground with my eyes lowered.

"Yuri, watch out!"

My body jolted, and my eyes snapped forward to spot what was happening. Before I could, however, I felt a hand pressing hard against my right shoulder, pushing me so that I fell onto my left side. The momentum of the push sent me tumbling, and by the time I had regained my balance, I had rolled about ten feet away from where I originally was. Lifting my eyes, I gasped at what I saw.

Where I had been a mere moment ago, Shikamaru was pinned against the clay wall as one of the Pink Dragon Millipede's razor-sharp spikes pierced directly through his body. His eyes bulged as he struggled to breathe. As the insect slowly pulled itself away, Shikamaru's body fell limp onto the ground. The brown clay quickly turned red as blood immediately began to pool as it poured out of his body.

My eyes had widened at the sight. _That could have been me, _I thought to myself. Shikamaru was _badly _hurt, and it was all because he tried to save me. I was frozen in place as I stared in shock.

"And then there was one."

My head instantly turned to face Zakuro. His eyes were narrowed and his mouth twitched as his sadistic smirk began to creep back onto his face. "Are you really going to keep fighting?" he asked in a calm voice, "I mean, look at where it has gotten your friends."

I gazed back at the others. Katsu lay on the ground in an uncomfortable-looking position, his skin tinted blue from his lack of oxygen. His sheer determination to protect Konoha was certainly something to admire, but it had only gotten him seriously hurt. Miyuki lay face down in the dirt, completely still, and her left shoulder was slightly burned from the cyanide. I remembered the look in her eyes just before she collapsed. _"I… I'm s-sorry," _was all she had said as her trembling eyes seemed to plead with me for forgiveness. And Shikamaru… he lay in a pool of his own blood, blood that he had shed trying to protect _me. _The wound he had received from Zakuro's monster sliced all the way through his body, and his skin grew paler and paler with each second as blood continued to flow onto the floor.

All of my friends risked their lives trying to save the village, and yet here I stood with just a few burns and a little scratch on my arm. What had I done for Konoha? What had I done for my friends? I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt wash over my body, causing my fingers to quiver and tears to sting in my eyes. How could I honestly call myself a Leaf Shinobi when I had done _nothing _to protect what was so precious to me?

I heard Zakuro as he began to laugh at my shame. "You're pathetic," he spat, "wallowing in your own self-pity like that."

At that moment, I realized that feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to get me anywhere. Feeling ashamed wasn't going to heal my friends, and it _certainly _wasn't going to protect Konoha from Zakuro's plan to conquer it. I realized that I too had to risk my life to protect that which was so dear to me. My father once told me that I was destined for greatness, and I knew that now was the time to prove it.

I quickly blinked the tears out of my eyes. Reaching my right hand into the weapon's holster strapped to my leg, I seized a kunai and pulled it out.

_It's all or nothing._

My shame slowly faded away as rage completely filled my entire being from the tips of my toes to each strand of hair on my head. My body began to tremble as I gripped the kunai in both of my hands. Doing so only entertained Zakuro even more, and his laughter continued.

I started to concentrate the chakra within my body and moved it into both of my hands. Once this was done, I began pushing the energy outside of my body until it quickly filled the metal throwing knife. Remembering my success the night before, I continued pouring chakra into the weapon, hoping to stretch the chakra past its blade. I was so angry that I didn't even notice the burning sensation that the technique had always caused.

"You really think that you're going to defeat me all by yourself? You're just a little girl!"

Zakuro's interjection only served to increase my anger tenfold, and when my blood was boiling, I found the technique easier to perform. My chakra was flowing rapidly, so pushing it outside of my body took almost no effort. Within seconds, I could sense that I had released an incredible amount of energy into the weapon, so much so that I could practically _see _the chakra glowing to form an enormous blade. My jaw clenched and my eyes narrowed, I first swung the blade in the direction of the millipede, and although I was nowhere near close enough to cut the insect with the kunai, I managed to completely slice through its body with my chakra.

As its cries echoed throughout the room, Zakuro's laughter ceased immediately. The millipede's body fell into two halves, spilling a bloody substance all over the ground, and in a large puff of smoke, it disappeared from the area. I wasted no time in swinging the weapon at Zakuro. In his shocked state, he was unable to maneuver out of the way, so I was able to hit him with my chakra blade. Just to be on the safe side, I cut entirely through his body multiple times, causing him to bleed out profusely and fall lifeless onto the ground.

When I knew that he was dead, I let the weapon fall from my hands. Exhausted, my body collapsed, and as my head hit the ground, I was knocked unconscious.


	20. Chapter Twenty: Recovery

Author's Note: Thank you all for being so understanding! Ahh I love you all. :D  
Anyway, as promised, here is chapter twenty! I hope you all enjoy! And reviews would make me super happy.  
(By the way, for all of those who wanted it, there's some fluff in this chapter! Yay!)

**Chapter Twenty: Recovery**

I awoke to the bright florescent lights of a hospital room. My eyes immediately squinted as they tried to adjust to the sudden extreme change in lighting, and I let out a tiny groan. I tried to remember exactly what I had done to get me here, and when I noticed the thick bandages wrapped around both of my hands, I recalled the previous day's events with a smile.

_I did it._

"Yuri?" I heard a familiar voice squeal from beside me. I turned my head to see Miyuki sitting in a chair that had been placed beside my bed. She had a huge grin on her face.

"Yuki," I grumbled as I tried to sit up, returning the smile.

"Oh my gosh," she said, "I was starting to think that you'd _never _wake up!" She stood up, approached my bedside, and took a seat on the foot of the bed. I could see that she was dressed in a hospital gown and her left shoulder was bandaged. Her long hair was pulled up into a messy bun.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"Don't worry about me," she beamed, "I was pretty lucky I guess. Apparently I hadn't been exposed to enough of the cyanide to have actually experienced the full effects. I just have a minor burn, that's all."

I was relieved to hear her say that. The sight of her lying lifeless on the ground of the enemy hideout worried me deeply. I lifted both of my arms to her, requesting a friendly hug, and she quickly obliged. I hugged her tightly, thankful that I still had my best friend.

"What about Katsu?" I inquired after I released her from the embrace. My eyes lowered to my lap as I remembered Zakuro's explanation as to what would result from the poison, and I braced myself for the worst.

"He's doing great!" She answered.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I flashed her a confused look. "But… Zakuro said…"

"Oh, that's right," she mused aloud, "I never got a chance to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"After Katsu passed out, you ran over to Zakuro and began attacking him, remember?"

I nodded, still skeptical.

"Well," she continued, "I remembered that Lady Hokage had given me antidote tablets a little while ago, so while you were distracting him, I pulled them out of my backpack and slipped one into Katsu's mouth. They must have worked, because when he was admitted to the hospital, all they had to do was treat the wounds from where the needles punctured his skin. They didn't have to treat him for poison at all!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. Both of my teammates were alright. I was so thankful that I nearly started to cry, and I had to quickly blink away the tears in my eyes before they had a chance to spill over. Miyuki placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

As I leaned back in my bed, my head fell lazily against my soft pillow and sunk comfortably into it. I let it flop to one side, unwilling to exert any strength, and noticed that there was another bed in the room. Miyuki's headband lay on top of the unmade linens, and I realized that she and I had shared a hospital room. On the wooden end table, next to a lamp and a digital clock, there was a small vase with a white carnation blooming beautifully atop a long green stem. As I gazed on the flower, I asked, "Who's the flower from?"

She took a moment to answer, so I mustered the strength to turn my head to face her. When I did so, I noticed that she was blushing furiously. With her hands fidgeting nervously in her lap, she quietly replied, "Sasuke."

"What?" I shrieked, immediately jolting upright in my bed. I cringed as I felt a slight pain shooting throughout my arm, but that didn't stop me from begging her to give me all of the details.

"Well," she started gently after clearing her throat, "While I was waiting for you to wake up, one of the nurses mentioned that Sasuke had been admitted to the hospital as well, so I decided to pay him a little visit. I made it quick; I just told him that I was glad that he was safe, and I wished him a quick recovery. Then, about ten minutes after I returned to the room, the nurse came back into the room and placed the flower on the table, and when I asked who it was from, she told me that Sasuke wanted me to have it."

Ignoring my body's complete lack of strength, I quickly captured my best friend in another friendly embrace while I cooed teasingly over the story. "And you thought that he would never like you!"

She broke the embrace to mumble, "it's just a flower; it doesn't mean that he likes me."

"It may be just a flower," I told her, "but for _Sasuke_ to do something like that, it's like he basically declared his undying eternal love for you." I grinned as I spoke that last part.

Miyuki couldn't help but smile at what I had said.

As silence enveloped us, memories of the previous day's events began replaying in my mind. I remembered that I had collapsed immediately after I had defeated Zakuro, and I immediately became curious as to how we had arrived at the hospital in the first place. "How did we get here, anyway?" I questioned Miyuki.

"Apparently Shikamaru and his teammates heard us from inside the bushes, and they found the underground passageway," Miyuki answered. I remembered that she had lost consciousness before Shikamaru's arrival, "and before he entered the hideout, he told Ino, Choji, and their assigned medical ninja to travel back to Konoha and report the location to Lady Tsunade. She then sent a group of ninja to help out, but by the time they had tracked us down, the fight was over. I guess they must have noticed us lying unconscious on the ground and transported us back to the village."

"Oh," I mumbled, lowering my gaze into my lap. I suddenly remembered how one of the spikes on the monstrous millipede had cut entirely through Shikamaru's body, leaving a gaping hole in the left side of his abdomen. I remembered how much blood he had lost upon its removal, and I instinctively cringed. Raising my eyes to face Miyuki, I asked her one last question. "How is Shikamaru?"

I hoped that she would answer cheerfully with a smile that everything was fine, like she had done when I asked about Katsu and her. I hoped that, somehow, his injuries were not as bad as they appeared to be that day. When Miyuki's face fell, however, I knew that wasn't the case. My heart sank in my chest. "Unfortunately, his injuries were the worst out of all of us," she replied quietly.

"Is he going to be ok?" I inquired, tears immediately forming in my eyes. I didn't even try to hide them, but instead let them fall freely down my cheeks and drip from my chin.

"From what I understand," she answered, "he's in pretty bad shape right now, but he's going to recover."

I was grateful to hear that he would be ok, but when I thought about how he had received his severe wounds because of me, I felt completely guilty. If only I would have paid better attention, Shikamaru might have escaped the battle with fewer, if any, injuries.

After a few minutes, I wiped my eyes free of tears and threw the covers off of my body. I then swung my legs over to the side of the bed and slid off of the edge and onto my feet. As I headed for the door, Miyuki asked, "Where are you going? I don't think you're supposed to leave just yet."

"I need to see him," I simply replied, twisting the doorknob and pushing it open. I slipped outside of the room, letting the door close behind me, and began walking down the long hospital hallway, despite the fact that I had no clue as to where I was going.

"Yuri!" I heard Miyuki's voice call from behind me. I slowly turned to face her, and she jogged toward me.

"Yuki," I sighed, "I don't care what the doctors say. I'm going-"

"You're going to need to know what room he's in, aren't you?" she interrupted, her lips stretching to form an affable smile.

After letting an enormous grin creep onto my face, I crashed into her for another hug, nearly knocking her over. She laughed gently and returned the embrace while telling me that Shikamaru was in room 405. As I released her from my arms, I thanked her, but before I began to head toward my destination, I decided that I had to come clean to my best friend.

"Yuki?" I said softly. She raised her eyebrows in a questioning look, as if signaling me to continue with what I had to say. "Just so you know… remember that day that I was really distracted, and you asked me if I was thinking about Shikamaru, and I said I wasn't?"

She nodded.

I took a deep breath before continuing, my heart pounding so hard from within my chest that I could practically hear it. "Well… I lied. It was Shikamaru. I really like him… a lot…" My cheeks burned as I told her the truth.

Tilting her head to the side, she laughed quietly under her breath. "Oh, Yuri," she whispered, "I already _knew _that."

I joined her in quiet laughter before turning on my heel to search for the elevator. Room 405 was on the fourth floor, and I was currently on the second. When I found the elevator at the end of the hall, I pressed the 'up' button, and in a matter of seconds, the door opened for me. I quickly stepped inside and pressed the button for the fourth floor, causing the doors to close and the machine to begin its climb.

Time seemed to pass slowly, much to my annoyance. It seemed to take ages for the elevator to ascend two floors. When the doors finally opened, I sprinted into the new hallway in search of Shikamaru, not wanting to waste any more time. The room numbers were decreasing, signifying that I was headed in the correct direction. Spotting the number '405' engraved in a wooden plaque on the wall, I approached the door and grasped the doorknob. I attempted to calm myself down before I had opened it, but I soon realized that it was impossible for me to be calm at a moment like this. With a deep breath, I turned the knob and pulled the door open.

Stepping inside, my eyes immediately focused on Shikamaru, who was lying in the bed on the far end of the room next to an open window. His dark hair was down, fanning out against the pillow, and his eyes were closed. I noticed an IV inserted in his left arm, and beside him a heart monitor beeped rhythmically, indicating that his condition was stable.

I heard the door latch as it closed on its own. My bare feet freezing against the tile floor, I slowly walked further into the room, pulling a chair from against the wall and placing it beside Shikamaru's bed. Lowering myself into the seat, I let my eyes wander over his body, again feeling the guilt wash over me. "Shikamaru…" I whispered to myself.

A few moments after I had spoken, I noticed Shikamaru's eyelids begin to flutter open. I gasped, shocked that he was awake. "Hey," he grumbled in a raspy voice.

"Hi," was all I managed to say back.

His eyes wandered along my entire body as he examined my injuries. My heart was racing, and my fingers were trembling in my lap. After a few minutes, I managed to muster enough courage to break the silence. "H-how are you feeling?"

"Kind of sore," he replied. He tried to lift himself into a sitting position, but that only caused him to grimace and cry out in pain. "Ok, I'm _really_ sore," he grinned after he lay back down in his bed.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled, trying desperately to fight the tears that again began to form in my eyes.

He tilted his head to the side, replacing his grin with a comforting smile. "You have no reason to apologize."

I shook my head. "You're in the hospital because of me. It's all my fault."

He reached his hand out toward me, with his palm facing outward. I took that as a request for my hand, and I hesitantly obliged by placing my hand in his. He intertwined his fingers with mine before squeezing gently. "Don't blame yourself for what happened to me, Yuri," he whispered.

"I can't help it," I sniffled, "If I didn't lose focus, you wouldn't have had to save me. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here in the hospital."

"Well, from what I've heard," he said, "If it weren't for _you, _Zakuro would still be alive, and he might have succeeded in his plans. It's because of _you _that the village is safe from him, Yuri."

I was dumbfounded. "How… how did you know?"

"The nurse told me everything," he simply replied.

He lifted my hand to his lips to place a gentle kiss on the top, and then he continued to kiss each individual fingertip where my bandages ended. I smiled at this, but my smile grew even wider when he gently pulled me over to sit on the side of his bed. My heart began to beat even faster, and I could feel my cheeks beginning to burn. Being so close to Shikamaru never failed to make me nervous.

I decided to be bold and reach out to brush a strand of hair away from his face, and I was relieved when he smiled in return. I wondered if it would be appropriate in this situation to kiss him. His lips were _right there, _taunting me with that little slanted smirk of his, but I wasn't sure that, with his injuries, he would really want to kiss me. I wasn't even sure that, after everything that had happened, he still _liked _me. _But I guess he did just kiss my hand... Agh, I don't even know!_

While I had been busy mentally debating with myself, Shikamaru had placed his hand underneath my chin to tenderly draw my face closer to his. Surprised, all thoughts in my mind ceased as I surrendered to his touch. When his lips softly brushed against mine, I allowed my eyes to fall close as I enjoyed the feeling. Careful not to hurt him, I caressed his face in each of my hands, and he let his hands glide down to rest on my waist.

Each kiss was so gentle and so sweet that in the heat of the moment I had completely forgotten how to breathe. All I could do was concentrate on the incredible feeling that his lips sent throughout my body as he pressed them against my own. Our tongues just barely touched as we simultaneously parted our lips, causing a shock wave of pleasure to shoot down my spine and all the way to the tips of my toes.

When we finally parted, Shikamaru affectionately rested his forehead against mine, and we smiled in unison.

When I heard the doorknob turning, my entire body jolted, and I quickly hopped off of Shikamaru's bedside. I could hear him laughing at my reaction, but I simply ignored it and returned to the chair that I had been sitting in earlier. Averting my gaze to the doorway, I noticed Lady Tsunade entering the room. Her heels clacked against the tile as she approached us. She smirked as her eyes fell upon the two of us. "I was just about to ask you how you were feeling, Shikamaru, but judging by that look on your face I'd say you're feeling well."

Shikamaru placed his hand against the left side of his belly, which was where his injury was. He winced slightly as he did so. "I'm still sore, though."

She nodded. "You're going to be sore for a while, but you're recovering nicely, which is good."

He and I both smiled in response. I was so relieved to know that he was going to be just fine. "Excuse me, my lady," Shikamaru started politely, "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"What's that?" She inquired.

"I really want to tell Asuma Sensei about our mission. Do you think you could have him visit me here?"

When her face fell, a pang of anxiety attacked my heart. Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows in her direction. "Shikamaru," she muttered, "I don't know how to tell you this…"

_Oh no…_

"What?" Shikamaru questioned, a hint of worry in his voice. He winced slightly as he tried to sit up in his bed.

"During his mission, Asuma and his teammates were attacked by a large group of rogue ninja. They were greatly outnumbered, and he received many major injuries to his vital organs."

Shikamaru's eyes lowered and his bottom lip began to quiver. "H-he's going to be ok… right?"

"I'm sorry," She murmured as she shook her head gently, "he didn't make it."

My body froze. Shikamaru had an expression of shock on his face as he stared lifelessly at the air in front of him. I could hear his breathing beginning to quicken as tears formed in his bulging eyes. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to comfort him, but I couldn't think of any successful way to do it. I knew that Asuma Sensei was very important to Shikamaru, so hearing that he had been killed must have shattered his heart into a million tiny pieces.

"Shikamaru," I whispered, reaching out my hand to brush my fingertips against his shoulder.

"I need to be left alone," Shikamaru said softly, his voice cracking as he tried to blink away his tears.

"Come, Yuri," Lady Tsunade called to me as she grabbed me by my uninjured arm and gently tugged me out of the room, "you need to get back in bed anyway."

A tear of my own slipped out of my eye as I gazed at Shikamaru. I didn't want to leave him. I wanted to help him in anyway I could. Lady Tsunade was strong, though, so when I tried to fight against her grip, it was no good. She simply dragged me out of the room and closed the door behind us. Before we had reached the elevator, I could just barely hear a muted scream of "Asuma!" coming from Shikamaru's room.


	21. Chapter TwentyOne: Opening Up

Author's Note: Thank you very much to those who reviewed the last chapter!  
We're getting near the end! Which is crazy to me, because I still feel like I just started writing the story! Haha.  
Anyway, if you thought the last chapter was sad, just wait until you read this one.  
Sorry about the sadness, but it all has a purpose, don't you worry! :)  
Anyway, enjoy (or at least try to, haha) and review, pretty please!

**Chapter Twenty-One: Opening Up**

It had been a few weeks since my release from the Konoha hospital. My burns had been completely healed, and, medically speaking, I was in perfect shape. There was just one problem, however, that had been getting in the way of my full recovery.

Shikamaru had been avoiding me.

I hadn't talked to him since the day the in the hospital that he had been informed of Asuma Sensei's passing. Actually, _nobody _in the village, save for his immediate family, had talked to him, or even _seen_ him, since then. He never came outside. He simply stayed locked up in his bedroom. Not even Choji, his best friend, had gotten through to him, and I was really starting to get worried.

Closing the door behind me, I exited my house and descended the porch steps. I fiddled nervously with the hem of my sweatshirt, biting my lip as I lowered my eyes in thought. I tried to shake away the troubling image of Shikamaru's crestfallen expression, but to no avail. Ever since that day, it continuously haunted my thoughts and dreams. Lifting my eyes to the sky, I shook my head in defeat and continued walking down the street.

Although the sky was somewhat gloomy, there were no clouds floating along for Shikamaru (or I) to gaze longingly at. The sun was beginning to lower itself in the sky, and it now fell behind the treetops in the distance. There was no beautiful sunset, however, only a dismal darkness that blanketed the village. I sighed, continuing on my way.

The village had returned to normal since Zakuro's defeat, as if the past had simply been forgotten. Children played ninja in their backyards, merchants incessantly persuaded passers by into purchasing their products, and the villagers went on with their lives while smiling and laughing. I watched as couples walked hand in hand down the streets, old friends joked about the past, and families enjoyed spending the evening together, and as I observed them, I wanted desperately to be like them. I wished I could be happy, but it was impossible for me to move on when I knew that Shikamaru was so miserable.

I kicked a pebble out of my way as I trudged along the rocky path. It skipped and hopped over bumps and cracks until it finally settled on the side of the road, all by its lonesome. _Now you're all alone, too,_ I thought with a sigh.

"Hey, Yuri!" I heard Miyuki's voice call from behind me.

I spun myself around to face her. She was jogging toward me with none other than Sasuke Uchiha following close behind her. It turned out that I was right about Sasuke's feelings for Miyuki, for a few days after he had given her the carnation, he asked her out on a date. They've been together ever since then. I could see that their hands were joined together, which caused me to smirk slightly. For Sasuke to show any public display of affection was incredible to me. He must have really liked her.

"Hey, Yuki," I smiled at her. I then turned to her date and gave a little nod, "Sasuke."

He returned my greeting with a quick wave of his hand.

"We were just about to go to the barbeque restaurant for some dinner," she told me, "Want to tag along?"

I shook my head. "That's ok. I don't want to spoil your evening."

"Yuri," she said knowingly, "You've been like this for weeks. I'm really worried about you," her eyes expressed concern.

I managed to force a smile onto my lips before replying, "You have nothing to worry about. You two go have fun."

The look on her face as Sasuke urged her along indicated that she felt guilty for leaving me, but after a moment she returned the small smile and turned on her heel to leave. When they had gotten lost in the sea of villagers that crowded the streets, I twirled myself around and resumed my walk.

I turned a corner and continued down a side street. A sudden rush of wind blew my bangs into my eyes as it rustled the leaves in the trees, so I immediately raised my left hand to hold the hair out of my face. When the wind ceased, I tucked the loose strands behind my ears and shoved my hands into the front pocket of my sweatshirt. The sky was getting dark, but I carried on until I finally stood before my destination.

The Nara household.

I took a deep breath before advancing toward the front steps. Despite the nervous quivering of my knees, I managed to ascend the stairs and position myself in front of the door. I slowly lifted my hand to the door before gently tapping against the hardwood, and, looking through the curtained windows, I could see someone's silhouette approaching. The door then opened to reveal a man who looked almost exactly like Shikamaru. His hair was in the same spiky ponytail, the same small silver loops hung from his earlobes, and he had the same bored black eyes. He was just slightly taller and bulkier, and had a few scars on the right side of his face. I guessed this was Shikamaru's father.

"Hello," he said in a low voice, "what can I do for you?"

I anxiously cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck with my right hand. "Um, h-hi, Mr. Nara… sir…" I took a moment to breathe, hoping that would calm me down some. I didn't even know why I was this nervous in the first place. "I was just wondering… is Shikamaru here?"

The man crossed his muscular arms over his chest. "He is, but unfortunately he doesn't want any visitors at the moment."

Upon hearing his answer, I nearly gave up, but then I remembered everything that Shikamaru had done for me over the past month. After he had treated me so nicely, and after he had saved my life multiple times, I just couldn't let him suffer alone. I had to help him. I lifted my pleading eyes to the man. "Please, sir," I begged, "I really need to see him. I need to know that he's ok."

"He's been really upset over Asuma's death," he told me.

"I know," I whispered, "but please, I'm begging you, sir. Don't you think that he needs someone right now? Someone to let him know that everything is going to be ok… that he's not alone…"

After a moment, the man smiled in my direction and stepped aside, holding the door open for me. I looked at him in amazement. "Come on in. I'll show you to his room."

I thanked him before stepping inside, and he let the door close behind me. He began walking through what appeared to be the living room. There was a set of stairs toward the back of the room, which he approached and began to climb. I followed closely after him. Once we had reached the top, the man turned to the right and headed down a small hallway with two doors on the left wall. He passed the first door to stand in front of the second. "Shikamaru is in here. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." He gave me a quick smile before turning to head back down the stairs, but before he began his descent, he looked back at me. "I hate seeing my son like this. I really hope you can cheer him up."

"I'll try my best," I replied, mustering a small smile.

After Shikamaru's father was out of sight, I gently knocked against the door. A muffled "go away," was the response that I received.

"Shikamaru?" I said through the door.

"I said go away," he retorted.

I bit my lip before grasping the doorknob in my right hand and giving it a twist. Pushing the door open, I stepped inside the room, and my eyes immediately focused on Shikamaru. He was sitting on his bed with his knees pulled tightly into his chest. His arms were wrapped around his legs, and he leaned his head back to rest against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Typical woman," he mumbled, "they never listen. How troublesome…"

"Shikamaru," I whispered as I sat on the edge of his bed.

He rolled his eyes and rested his head against his knees, facing away from me. I reached out to touch his shoulder, but he flinched away from my hand. I lowered my eyes into my lap as I retracted my hand and began nervously fingering the sleeve of my shirt. "Just leave me alone," he grumbled.

"Shikamaru, listen to me," I said, "You don't have to talk to me, you don't even have to _look _at me… but please, just listen."

He was silent, so I assumed that he was paying attention.

"I know exactly how you're feeling right now," I started. I could already feel tears already stinging in my eyes, "When I lost my father, I didn't want to be around anyone. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I just wanted to be left alone."

"So why are you here?" he snapped, lifting his glaring eyes to mine.

I was slightly taken aback, but I tried to maintain my composure, attributing his reaction to his unstable emotions. "That day at the park, when I opened up to you about my father… Shikamaru, you were the first and _only_ person that I had ever expressed my feelings to. Until then, I kept everything bottled up inside, thinking that I was being strong. But when I let it all out, it was like… like all the weight of those negative emotions had lifted off of my heavy heart."

"I don't need to talk about anything," he interrupted. I could hear the annoyance in his voice.

"Please," I whispered. A few tears had slipped out of my eyes and glided down my cheeks, and his hard eyes seemed to soften slightly as he saw them. I hoped that I was getting somewhere with him. "I realized that talking about the things that make you angry, depressed, confused, or whatever you may be feeling… well, it makes everything so much easier. Knowing that someone cared… and knowing that I didn't have to deal with everything all on my own…" I had to stop talking for a moment while I choked back a few sobs and wiped the tears out of my eyes.

"You're not alone, Shikamaru," I finally continued, "I'm here for you. You don't have to hold it in anymore. Talk to me… please, Shikamaru, just let it out…"

Before he hastily hid his face from me again, I noticed that tears had started to form in his eyes as well. I slid further onto the bed to sit beside him, and when I placed my arm around his shoulders, I was surprised when he immediately leaned into me, burying his face in my neck and wrapping his arms loosely around my middle. He sniffled loudly, trying to cover up his sobs, but the wetness that I felt against my skin gave it all away. He was crying.

I stiffened for a moment as I tried to process exactly what had happened, but I soon relaxed and leaned my head against the top of his. My arms tightened their grip around him, pulling him closer to me, as I soothingly stroked my fingertips against his back. "Everything is going to be ok."

He sniffled before replying, "I really wish I could believe you."

I couldn't stop my own tears from pouring out of my eyes. Seeing him completely break down in my arms was heartbreaking. I lightly pressed my lips to the top of his head and pulled him even closer to me. "You can," I forced through a sob, "You can believe me. I don't care how long it takes. I will be here for you. No matter what, I will be here."

His breathing became sharper with his sobs, and he tightened his arms around my waist. He just let himself weep in my arms while I did my best to comfort him, wiping the tears from his eyes and tucking his hair behind his ears when it fell loose from his ponytail. Gradually as time passed, he started to calm down, and the salty liquid ceased squeezing out of his tightly shut eyelids. I didn't let go, however. I wanted to make sure that he was ok before I released him from my arms.

He lifted his head to face me, and although his eyes were bloodshot and his face was still wet with tears, he had a hint of a smile on his lips. "Thank you, Yuri."

Taking his hand in mine, I kissed his forehead, just as he had done the night that I had opened up to him. Beaming happily, I replied, "You don't have to thank me."


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo: Promotion

Author's Note: Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed the last chapter! I love you all. :D  
Probably won't be another update until Thursday or Friday when I come back home from college. Ugh, it's very frustrating not having good internet. .  
Anyway, enjoy the newest installment of _Shadow Possession of the Heart!_  
Oh, and reviews would be lovely too. :)

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Promotion**

"… So without further ado, I present to you Konoha's newest Jonin!"

Lady Tsunade stepped aside, and we bowed to the spectators as everyone began to clap and cheer for us, including the Hokage herself. I couldn't help but smile. I had finally achieved greatness, just like my father always told me I would. As I gazed upon the large crowd of people who had gathered here to witness the promotion ceremony, I felt invincible, like I could accomplish anything.

Wrapping my arm around Miyuki's shoulders, I said, "Well, Yuki, we did it."

She grinned back at me. "Yes, we did."

When the crowd started to dissipate, 'Konoha's newest Jonin' filed off of the stage in search of their loved ones. Miyuki's father, mother, and brother all caught her in a simultaneous hug, which caused a giant smile to appear on her face. Katsu's mother hugged him as well, while his father lovingly ruffled his long blonde hair. Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Sakura, their families were there too. Even Naruto and Sasuke, who didn't have their parents, had someone there for him. Iruka Sensei excitedly congratulated Naruto and promised to treat him to Ramen (which, of course, caused Naruto to yell in excitement and jump up and down), and Miyuki's family kept Sasuke company as well. I desperately tried to drive the pain out of my aching heart as I witnessed everyone's joy. I wanted so badly for my father to be here, to wrap me in his arms and spin me around, just like he had done when I graduated from the Academy. But he was gone, and that was never going to happen.

Shoving my hands into the pockets of my new black Jonin uniform, I sighed and dropped my gaze toward the ground. As I turned on my heel to head home, I could hear the laughs and the cries of "Congratulations!" from the crowd behind me. I couldn't help but allow a small tear to squeeze out of my left eye. Quickly, before anyone could see, I tilted my head down to rub the wetness against the fabric of my shirt. I took a deep breath, hoping that would somehow make me feel better, even though I _knew _it wouldn't.

_I miss you, father… so, so much._

The soft evening breeze swept my bangs into my eyes, but I didn't care to toss them away. If anything, they hid my sulking expression from the world. On such a day as this, I should have been happy. I should have felt like I was on top of the world, but instead I felt like I was falling off of it. My feet dragged against the ground as I slowly trudged along.

When I reached my house, I slowly ascended the porch steps and gently pushed the door open. Kicking my shoes off, I let the door shut behind me as I found my way to the living room and let myself fall face down into the couch cushions. I lifted my right hand to undo my ponytail and then untie the knot of my headband and let it fall to the floor, the metal plate clanking against the hardwood.

"_Yuri, you dropped your headband!"_

I gasped. I could have sworn that I had just heard my father's voice. Blinking my eyes, I tried to shake away the memory of him.

_His smile caused the wrinkles near the outside corners of his eyes to deepen. His left hand raised to adjust his spectacles as his right arm gripped the blue fabric of my first leaf ninja headband. His thin hair was graying with age. "You don't want to go on your first mission without it!"_

_He approached me, now holding the fabric in both of his hands, and tied it around my forehead. After he pulled the knot tight, he stepped back and smiled at me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "I can't believe that my little flower is all grown up."_

I squeezed my eyes tightly, trying desperately to push the image of my father out of my mind. My fingers gripped the edges of the cushions, and I bit my bottom lip so hard that I was surprised that my teeth didn't pierce the skin and fill my mouth with the metallic taste of my own blood. I tried to keep my breathing under control as I fought to keep my composure.

Suddenly, there was a knock at my door, which wrenched me from my thoughts. Clearing my throat, I used my shaky arms to lift myself up from the couch. I quickly fixed my hair and smoothed out my clothes as I walked toward the front door. Grasping the doorknob in my hand, I slowly pulled the door open to reveal Shikamaru leaning nonchalantly against the porch railing, his hands shoved into his pockets and a concerned look on his face.

"H-hey," I choked out in a whisper.

"I didn't see you after the ceremony," he told me.

My lips parted as I tried to think of something to say to him. Unfortunately, my mind was still preoccupied by the persistent thoughts of my father, so coming up with a response was more difficult than it should have been.

"Are you ok?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Uh," I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the giant lump in my throat, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He gave me a look as if to ask if he could come in, so I graciously stepped aside and allowed him to enter my home. I closed the door and then followed him into the living room. He sat down on my couch and then patted the spot beside him; I immediately obliged and sat next to him.

"You know," he started, "Ino is throwing a party as we speak to celebrate the promotions. I know you got an invite, so why are you spending your night all alone?"

"I'm not alone," I whispered, forcing a small smile.

He returned the gesture, but soon returned the serious expression to his face. "Don't try to act like nothing's wrong. I know you better than you may think, Yuri."

"Then you should already know what's wrong," I replied.

"Is it…" he paused for a moment, as if he was wondering whether or not he should finish his thought. He pursed his lips and then continued, "Is it your father?"

A sharp pain shot through my heart and caused it to race in a nervous frenzy. I instinctively turned my head away from him, so as to keep my emotions hidden from Shikamaru. The warm feeling of his fingertips gliding lightly against the skin of my neck as he brushed my hair away from my face sent shock waves throughout my body. My breathing became heavy as I fought against the tears that were soon to form.

He must have sensed my reaction, for he quickly pulled his hand away and set it in his lap. "I know you probably would rather not talk about it, so I won't make you."

"Thank you," I mumbled quietly.

"Besides," he continued, "there's something else that I came here to talk to you about."

Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I tilted my head in his direction. His eyes were focused on his fidgeting hands, and his knee bounced slightly. He seemed nervous, which surprised me. I had never thought of Shikamaru as the type of person who ever got nervous.

After taking a deep breath, he lifted his eyes to gaze at me. "Listen," he started as he reached out to take both of my hands in his, "I really like you, Yuri, and I don't want to be with anyone else."

His words shocked me. I was speechless, unable to move. I really wasn't expecting _that._

"Never in my life has a girl made me feel this way. It scares me to death, but… but I know that I don't want to run away from it. You're so amazing. When I felt like my whole world was crashing down on me, you were there to make everything right again," laughing quietly under his breath, he said, "Not to mention, you're an _incredible _kisser." He then winked at me.

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, the heat signaling that I was blushing a deep shade of red. Biting my lip, I lowered my eyes nervously to my hands, which Shikamaru still held in his. I noticed how perfectly our fingers fit together as they intertwined, and I smiled.

He sighed slightly before continuing. "I've never really done this before, and I really have no idea what I am doing, but… Yuri, I want to make this official. I don't want you to be with anyone else, because… well, I'm selfish, and I want you all to myself."

As I processed the words that he spoke, I found myself trying to fight a goofy smile that was forming on my lips. He gave both of my hands a gentle squeeze, and I immediately squeezed back. Lifting my gaze to his, I couldn't fight the smile any longer. I met his eyes and noticed that his expression seemed to relax, his shoulders loosened, and a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "So, is that a yes?" he beamed.

I laughed quietly under my breath. "You're such a goofball."

I almost didn't see him furrow his eyebrows at my statement while I leaned forward to place my lips against his. He was surprised for a moment, which caused me to smirk slightly at how the tables had turned. I cupped his face in my hands and leaned my body into his, and, after he had recovered from the initial shock of my actions, he let his hands snake around my waist.

Startled, I squealed quietly when Shikamaru lowered himself so that he was lying on his back. He pulled me down with him, so I was now lying on top of him. My cheeks reddened at the thought, but I tried to ignore my nerves and continued kissing him.

We simultaneously parted our lips, our tongues meeting in between. His fingers traced lightly against my back as they made their way up to tangle in my hair, and I shivered against his touch. My hands unintentionally gripped the fabric of his t-shirt as his tongue gently massaged my own, and the feeling of his hot breath against my wanting lips made my entire body quiver. I couldn't help myself. I could do nothing other than press myself harder against his body.

He broke our lip lock in order to place light kisses down my jaw line and then on my neck. I leaned my head to the right, allowing him easier access, and my eyelids fluttered. He flicked his tongue against my collarbone, and then gently grazed his teeth against my skin. My fingers tightened their grip on his t-shirt, pulling myself closer and closer into him. I never wanted him to stop.

He surprised me when he skillfully flipped the both of us over so that he was now in the dominant position. Wasting no time, he immediately continued kissing and nibbling my neck, and I immediately continued pulling him closer into me. My breathing quickened, and I nearly groaned as the pleasure quickly became too much, but, luckily, I was able to keep myself quiet. His fingers lightly brushed a strand of my hair behind my ears, and when they did, his lips began making their way back to my own. By this time, I was very eager to kiss him once more, so I quickly brought my hands up behind his neck and pulled him into me.

Our lips crashed together and instantly parted so that our tongues could meet in the middle. We were both growing increasingly fervent. Our hands wandered relentlessly over each other's bodies, and as our breathing became more ragged, neither of us could refrain from allowing soft noises of pleasure to escape our mouths.

I groaned in disappointment when he separated his lips from mine, causing him to smirk. He dipped his head downward, and through heavy breaths he whispered into my ear, "I _know _that's a yes."


	23. Chapter TwentyThree: Surprise

Author's Note: Hello there everyone!  
Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. You guys made me smile real big. :D  
This is probably the fluffiest chapter I've written so far hahaha. Well, in my opinion. Hopefully you all like it!  
And don't worry, there will be Miyuki/Sasuke fluff in the next one. I tried to find a way to put some in this chapter but I decided just to save it. I'm sorry! :(  
Anyway, enjoy chapter twenty-three! Only one chapter left! :O  
Reviews would make my day. :) (Especially considering the fact that I'm going to be doing homework all day. -.-)

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Surprise**

"Shikamaru!" I laughed loudly as I nearly tripped over my own two feet. Thankfully, however, Shikamaru's hand tightened around my waist to keep me from toppling over. He had surprised me this afternoon when he covered my eyes with his hands and informed me that I was being "kidnapped." He was taking me someplace, but he would not tell me where, no matter how many times I begged and pleaded.

"For a Jonin, you're pretty uncoordinated," Shikamaru chuckled from behind me.

I reached backward to smack his chest with the back of my hand, earning a surprised "Ow!" from Shikamaru.

"For a Jonin, you sure can't take a hit!" I mocked him through fits of giggles, which grew louder and more frequent when he used the hand on my waist to pinch and poke at the extremely ticklish area. As I tried to fight against him, I struggled to maintain my balance, and I ended up tripping over what felt like a root in the ground. As I started to fall, I quickly grasped Shikamaru's t-shirt, hoping that would save me. He had obviously been off-balance as well, for he dropped to the ground the instant I clung to him. We landed side by side on the hard ground.

Our snickering ceased for a moment as we grunted against the impact, but the fall only increased our amusement, and within moments, our fits of laughter filled the air once again. I found myself struggling to breathe, and my eyes began to water.

After about a minute or so, we started to calm down a bit. I attempted to use my arms to lift myself into a sitting position, but before I could, Shikamaru rolled on top of me so that his face was merely inches from my own. I smiled at him while furrowing my eyebrows in confusion. "Now what are you doing?"

"Well," he started, a sly smile playing on his lips, "I can't let you see where we are just yet." Before I could protest, he dipped down to capture my lips in a deep kiss. I momentarily forgot how to breathe. Shikamaru always had that effect on me. When I had recovered from the initial shock, I let my eyelids flutter close, smiling into the kiss. Shikamaru's right hand found mine, and he immediately intertwined our fingers, while his left hand softly caressed my face. In that moment, time seemed to stop, and all that mattered was that we were together.

When he slowly separated his lips from mine, my eyelids remained closed for a moment as I held on to that moment, not wanting to let it go. Every kiss was so incredibly _perfect. _It was difficult for me to believe that someone as amazing as Shikamaru would ever want to be with someone like me. When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that Shikamaru had already blackened my vision with his hands. "You jerk," I giggled.

"You know you loved it," I could hear the smirk in his voice. I rolled my eyes before I remembered that he would not see it.

He took my hand in his, while keeping my eyes completely covered, and helped me to my feet. When I grumbled in mock annoyance, Shikamaru assured me that we were nearly there. Instead of walking in the direction that his hand guided me, however, I stubbornly crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me _where _you're taking me."

Shikamaru groaned, and I grinned in response. _He _has _to tell me now!_

Suddenly, Shikamaru's hand over my eyes was replaced with a piece of fabric with a heavy plate attached to it. I quickly realized that he had slid my headband, which was originally in its usual position around my forehead, down to cover my eyes, so I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What are you do-"

I didn't get to finish my sentence before Shikamaru swept me off of my feet. Literally. He placed his right arm underneath my knees and cradled my upper body in his left, and in one swift motion, he lifted me off of the ground. I gasped in surprise, and once he had stabilized himself, I swatted his chest and yelled at him in between nervous giggles. To shut me up, he placed a quick kiss on my lips. "Problem solved," he said.

"Shikamaru," I sighed, "We've been together for two months now. You can't just kidnap me like this, you know!"

"As long as I'm carrying you, I can take you wherever I want," he retorted.

"Hmph," I grumbled. I really didn't like surprises. The suspense was eating me alive.

"Oh calm down," he responded, "troublesome woman."

Luckily for him, I could hear in his voice that he was only saying that to earn some sort of reaction out of me. If he had actually been serious, I might have just jumped out of his arms and kicked his ass right then and there (yes, with a blindfold on), but instead, I simply smiled at him and shook my head. "You're so weird."

"I'm weird?" He laughed, "Look who's talking."

"Hey!"

"It's true!"

"Take it back, you jerk!"

"I will, under one condition."

"What's that?"

Without immediately answering me, Shikamaru set me down on my feet and shocked me by pressing his lips against mine. While he was kissing me, he brought his hands up to my face and lifted the headband off of my eyes, returning it to its normal spot. He then separated his lips from mine and affectionately leaned his forehead against mine. "Open your eyes."

I did just as I was told, and I couldn't keep my jaw from dropping at what I saw. We were standing in the middle of the forest. Facing us was a large tree, which had a wide trunk and millions of bright green leaves growing on the top, and surrounding that tree were about five bushes of beautiful purple lilies. The sun peeked coyly through the treetops and cast patches of light against the flowers, causing them to contrast brilliantly against their surroundings. The whole area seemed to sparkle in a sort of dreamlike manner, rendering me completely speechless as I gazed upon the scene.

"Well?" Shikamaru said after a few moments of silence.

My lips parted, and my mind tried desperately to think of the words to express what I was thinking. "It's… beautiful," I finally sighed.

Shikamaru pulled me into his chest, and I instantly wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. I buried my face into his neck, placing light kisses against his warm skin. My fingers gripped the fabric of his t-shirt as I tried to pull myself closer to him. I breathed in his scent, allowing my eyelids to flutter close and a smile to form on my lips. I could have stayed like that forever.

"So, you like it?" He finally asked, breaking the silence.

I pulled away from him to look into his eyes. "I love it."

His lips stretched wide, causing his eyes to squint slightly. He then brought his right hand up under my chin to gently tilt my head upward so he could place a tender kiss on my lips. It was so soft and sweet that it sent tingles down my spine.

"Where did you find this place?" I asked, resting my head against his chest as I gazed upon the flowers once more.

"Come here, and I'll tell you the story," he grabbed my hand and led me toward the large tree. He slid down the length of the trunk into a sitting position, motioning for me to join him. I quickly obliged. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him.

"After Asuma's death, I was going through a really hard time, so one day, I decided to go for a walk in an attempt to clear my mind. It didn't work, obviously, and I ended up thinking about Asuma rather than keeping my eyes on the trail that I was on. I wandered into the forest, not really knowing where I was going, and I ended up finding this place," he paused for a moment before continuing, "Once I saw all of the lilies… all I could think about was you."

My heart started to pound loudly from within my chest.

"For the first time since his death, I wasn't totally consumed with the loss of my Sensei. The lilies were so beautiful, and all I could think about was being with you again. I envisioned bringing you here and seeing the look on your face once you saw it. I envisioned us sitting in this very spot," he intertwined his fingers with mine, "and I even envisioned kissing you here," he then placed a loving kiss on my lips.

"It became the perfect place for me to just get away from all of the troubling emotions that I was forced to deal with. I could think about something that makes me truly happy: being with you."

I couldn't keep the smile from forming on my lips.

"Is that really true?" I whispered in disbelief.

He nodded, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "I wanted to bring you here sooner, but since becoming a Jonin, I have been really busy with missions. I know you've been busy as well."

"Yeah," I breathed, "I never imagined it would be this much work."

I could feel his lips press against the top of my head, and I immediately smiled and closed my eyes. I inhaled the crisp, clean air of the forest, the smell of the lilies mixed with Shikamaru's musky scent swirling pleasantly around my nostrils and filling my lungs. Even with my eyes shut, all I could picture was the beautiful area in which we sat.

After a few minutes of simply enjoying the silence of the forest, I reopened my eyes and craned my neck to face Shikamaru. His eyelids were closed, and his chest rose and fell slowly and steadily. On his lips played a slight hint of a smile. I mimicked the gesture, pleased to see him so happy and relaxed. I merely gazed at him, taking in his handsome features. Every now and then, his nose would twitch slightly when a strand of loose hair blew into his face and tickled him. My grin widened; I enjoyed that little quirk of his.

He took in a deep breath, and as he did, his lips parted slightly. His tongue slowly flicked over his lips to moisturize the soft skin, causing them to glisten against the sunlight. I wanted so badly to lean over and kiss him, but I knew that in doing so I would have disrupted him, so I simply stayed put and tried to ignore my growing desire. As he took another deep breath, he let out a quiet, husky groan. I bit my lip, my cheeks reddening, and looked away. _Why does he have to be so irresistible?_

"Finished staring?" I heard him calmly inquire, causing me to jump and gasp in surprise. I lifted my eyes back to his, and found one eye peeking toward me while the other stayed closed. The smile on his lips had grown wider at the sight of my crimson face.

"I… I wasn't staring!" I scoffed, bringing a hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ears in an attempt to hide my face from him.

"Oh please," he smirked, "I know you find me irresistible. Don't try to deny it."

My heart skipped a beat. _It's like he knew exactly what I was thinking…_

I crossed my arms defiantly over my chest. "Way to ruin the nice mood with your cocky attitude."

"Well then," he sighed, "allow me to apologize."

He reached his arm over toward one of the bushes of lilies and plucked one from the ground. He then brushed my bangs away from my face and tucked the flower's stem behind my ear. Once it was in place, he gently traced my jaw line with his fingertips to tilt my chin upward. His lips pressed softly against mine, so softly that I could barely feel it, but the kiss still sent shock waves of tingles running throughout every inch of my body that caused me to shiver. I inhaled sharply as my heartbeat began to race.

When we parted, Shikamaru whispered with a smirk, "You've wanted to do that this whole time, haven't you?"

Without thinking, I nodded my head, but once I realized what I had just done, I quickly began stammering as I tried to think of some way to convincingly deny it. Soon realizing that was impossible, however, I sighed and hung my head in shame.

Shikamaru laughed quietly. "Don't worry, Yuri," he said, "I've wanted it as well."

My eyes lifted to his, a look of surprise mixed with relief and happiness washing over my features. It must have been quite a goofy looking expression, for Shikamaru's lips immediately stretched into a wide smile upon seeing me. I couldn't keep myself from returning the gesture. He squeezed my hand reassuringly and placed a light kiss to my forehead. "I love you, Yuri," he whispered.

I thought that my heart had stopped beating. My eyes widened, and through my chest shot a jolt of nervousness. I had no idea as to how I should respond. I had nearly forgotten how to _breathe,_ let alone form complete sentences.

Did I _love _Shikamaru?

As I pondered this, I thought back to the countless times he had saved my life. I thought about the talks we had shared, from the silly to the serious, and everything in between. I thought about how he never failed to take my breath away with just one kiss, one touch, one _smile_. I thought about my willingness to share my deepest thoughts, fears, and memories with him, even when I had never been willing to share them with anyone else. And as I thought about all of this, something occurred to me…

In the entire time that we had been surrounded by all of the beautiful lilies in the forest, not _once _had depressing memories of my father arisen and caused me to cry.

It was in that moment that it became clear to me.

Joyful tears welled in my eyes as my lips formed a shy smile. "I love you too, Shikamaru."


	24. Epilogue

Author's Note: Ahhh! You guys! This is the end! :O  
It's kind of sad, really... my first story is actually finished... wow.  
I just want to say thank you to everyone who read this story, left amazing reviews, and favorited this story. It really means a lot to me! You guys are incredible!  
So, I really, really, **really **hope that you enjoy the final installment of _Shadow Possession of the Heart.  
_Oh, and by the way, the ending of this story is completely open-ended. As in... you fill in the blanks as to what happens next. ;) If you know what I mean.  
Haha, I'm not even going to attempt to write a lemon. I feel like it would just be horrible. I won't make you guys suffer through that. XD  
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and reviews would be amazing, as always... especially since this is the last chapter. :D  
Thank you all again for being so amazing!

Oh, and I am starting to work on a new story, but give me some time to write a few chapters just to get it going. I don't want to start a story and then halfway through decide that I don't like it, haha. So yeah. Keep on the lookout for that. It's going to be a GaaraxOC story, as difficult as that may be, heh. :)

**Epilogue**

The sun was setting on the horizon over the black silhouettes of the thousands of trees in the distance. Today was Miyuki's birthday, so to celebrate, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and I had set up a small picnic for her near a beautiful pond outside of the village. The problem was, though, that I hadn't heard from Shikamaru all day, and it was nearing the time to leave. I had a hunch as to where he was, and I just hoped that I was right.

"Ok," I sighed, running my fingers through my fiery hair, "Sasuke, you go find Miyuki. Take her for a walk, stall for a bit. I'll go find Shikamaru, and then the two of us will meet you at the sight for the picnic."

The dark-haired boy nodded, blinking his charcoal eyes as he did. He shoved his hands into his pockets and nonchalantly plodded away. I rolled my eyes and laughed under my breath. _Alright, tough guy…_

Shrugging off Sasuke's behavior, I turned on my heel to head in another direction. The evening was growing cooler, so I lifted the hood of my sweatshirt to cover my ears, and then I crossed my arms over my chest. Red and orange leaves were falling like rain from the trees surrounding the path that I followed, signifying that summer had reached its end. Although a sea of warm colors surrounded me, I couldn't stop my teeth from chattering slightly as a cool breeze blew across my skin.

I strayed from the dirt path to take a shortcut through the trees. As I meandered through the tall trunks that shot up randomly from the ground, blades of long and unkempt grass brushed against the skin of my legs that my capris did not cover. Small twigs snapped as I stepped, interrupting the serene sound of rustling leaves.

I reached my intended destination within a few minutes. I returned to the trimmed grass and openness of an area on the outskirts of the village. Sticking out from the ground were rows of small stones and plaques, and, sure enough, there stood Shikamaru. He had his hands shoved into his pockets and his narrowed eyes focused on the ground.

"It's already been a month."

I let out a small gasp, his comment startling me, and my body froze. His body remained stoic, the only movement caused by the gentle breeze blowing the hair in his spiky ponytail.

"It still doesn't feel like he's gone," he said calmly, his voice smooth and unwavering, "I still wake up every morning wondering what Asuma Sensei has planned for Ino, Choji, and I."

I was relieved when I detected a slight hint of a smile in his words. I made my way through the rows of gravestones to wrap my arms tightly around Shikamaru's middle, resting my head against his upper back. He placed his hands against mine and intertwined our fingers while I let my eyes close.

"Are you going to be alright?" I whispered after placing a kiss against the warm skin of his neck.

He turned himself around to engulf me in his arms. As his cheeks brushed against mine, I felt a bit of wetness, and I knew that he had been crying. I tightened my grip around his waist and rubbed his back soothingly. We stayed like that for a few minutes before Shikamaru finally answered me. "I'll be fine."

When we finally separated, I leaned in to place a quick kiss on his lips, and I was happy to see that my action had caused him to smile. I grasped his hand in mine before asking, "Are you ready for dinner? Miyuki and Sasuke are probably waiting for us."

He nodded, and the two of us walked side by side back to the village through the shortcut that I had taken earlier. Neither of us said a word; we simply enjoyed each others' company in silence. We strolled along the dirt paths through the village for about five minutes before reaching Konoha's gate, and we then sprinted up the trunk of a large tree so that we could reach our destination quicker. The wind whipped across my face and threw the hood of my sweatshirt from my ears, the cold stinging my once-warm skin. When we spotted Miyuki and Sasuke on the ground below, Shikamaru and I let ourselves fall gracefully down from the sky to meet our friends.

There was a large navy blue blanket spread across the ground in front of a small pool of glistening water, which lapped calmly against the shore. Miyuki and Sasuke had already taken their seats on the blanket. Miyuki gazed lovingly at Sasuke while he opened the picnic basket and began rifling through it for the silverware. As we approached, Miyuki's gaze lifted and her eyes immediately brightened at the sight of us. She jumped from her seat to crash into me for a friendly hug, while Shikamaru helped Sasuke set up. "Happy birthday, Yuki!" I laughed.

"I'm so glad you guys came!" she grinned when she released me. The two of us then took our seats on the blanket.

When the food was set out and we each had a plate and silverware to use, the four of us began piling large helpings of rice, chicken, and noodles onto our dishes so we could dig in. I was surprised at how delicious the food actually was; I never suspected that Sasuke would have been a good cook.

We finished eating quickly and packed the scraps and dishware into the basket. Miyuki then snuggled next to Sasuke, who became visibly stiff as she did so. I chuckled at his prudishness and followed Miyuki's lead by leaning my back against Shikamaru's chest. He wrapped his arms around my middle and kissed the top of my head. I smiled and let my eyes fall close.

"See?" Miyuki said suddenly. I peeked my eyes open to see that she was gesturing toward Shikamaru and I while she glared playfully at Sasuke, "Now why don't you do cute stuff like that?"

Shikamaru and I laughed quietly. I could tell that Sasuke was appalled by the thought of damaging his "tough guy" reputation, but he let out a long sigh and wrapped his arms around Miyuki anyway. Her lips stretched into a wide smile when he hugged her, and I swear I saw a small hint of a smile on his. I smiled. He definitely wasn't one to show affection, but I could tell that he really did care for Miyuki.

We talked and we laughed together as the evening light faded into darkness. The bright moon illuminated the sky, causing the ripples in the water to gleam brightly, and the millions of stars seemed to twinkle. Crickets and frogs chirped and croaked melodiously, and every now and then the sound of an owl hooting could be heard. The four of us lay on our backs to gaze at the sky, Miyuki and I huddled against our boyfriends for warmth as the gentle draft created goose bumps on our cold skin. In short, it was a wonderful night.

I craned my neck to face the couple beside us. Miyuki's eyes were closed and a small smile played on her lips. Sasuke's eyes stared off into the distance. One hand reached to cradle his head while the other wrapped around Miyuki's shoulders. I couldn't help but notice that they were perfect together.

"Miyuki," I said, my voice scratching tiredly as I spoke.

She turned to face me, opening her eyes slowly. I guessed that she was also growing tired. "Yeah?" she responded.

"What do you want more than anything right now?"

She seemed surprised by my question.

"Come on," I smiled, "it's your birthday. You have to make a wish on your birthday."

"Well," she started, but trailed off as she pondered exactly what it was that she would wish for. Her eyes flashed toward Sasuke for a split second. "I… I don't know…"

I smirked accusingly at her. "Yes you do,"

"Yeah, come on, Miyuki." Even Shikamaru had joined in on persuading her.

Sasuke remained silent, but gazed at her with a look of curiosity. Her gaze met his, and the two seemed to engage in an entire conversation using only their eyes. I watched in amazement as the two appeared to understand each other so perfectly without even saying a single word. After a moment, Sasuke's expression softened, as if telling her to go on and verbalize her desires, and she nodded slowly.

"My wish," she whispered, stopping to clear her throat in a desperate attempt to buy time. I didn't know why she was so nervous. "Sasuke,"

The dark-eyed boy became alert in response to his name.

"I… I want you to kiss me."

My jaw dropped slightly from shock, but at the same time, I couldn't help but allow a goofy smile to stretch across my lips. My hand unintentionally squeezed Shikamaru's tightly.

Miyuki's gaze fell to her lap, and, if there had been enough light to see it, I'm sure her cheeks would have been burning a dark shade of crimson. Sasuke appeared more surprised than I was. It seemed that he was engaged in a mental debate with himself, trying to figure out exactly what he should do.

Realizing that our presence wasn't necessarily a big help to our friends' nerves, I jumped to my feet, pulling Shikamaru with me. He groaned, not wanting to move from the comfortable position he was in, but he followed me anyway. "Well," I said nervously, "We'll leave you two alone now… Goodnight, and happy birthday, Yuki."

Shikamaru said goodnight as well and the two of us began walking through the forest in the direction of Konoha. We stayed silent for a few minutes, allowing ourselves to stagger far enough away so that we were out of earshot. When I could not contain myself any longer, I stopped suddenly and turned to face Shikamaru. "How crazy was that?"

Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"After all this time, they still haven't kissed!"

Shikamaru grinned at my surprise. "What do you expect?" He asked, "They're both extremely shy people. Neither one of them is really the type to initiate anything. Hell, I'm surprised that Sasuke even managed to ask Miyuki out."

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right… I really hope I didn't cause any problems between the two…"

Shikamaru pulled me into his chest and softly ran his fingers through my hair. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into his neck. We stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying every second of each others' company.

"Hey, look," Shikamaru whispered into my ear.

I turned my head into the direction that he was pointing, resting my head against his chest, and smiled uncontrollably at what I saw. Back by the pond, the small silhouettes of Miyuki and Sasuke could be seen. Miyuki had her arms wrapped around his neck, and Sasuke had leaned in to place his lips against hers. I could tell that his nerves had finally calmed when he allowed his hands to rest on her hips so that he could deepen the kiss.

I whipped my head back to face Shikamaru, smiling uncontrollably. "Aww!" I cooed, "I _so _made that happen."

Shikamaru chuckled, grabbed my hand, and pulled me along with him as he continued heading back to Konoha. That stupid grin was glued to my face for at least the next five minutes.

"Yuri?" Shikamaru finally broke the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember our first kiss?"

The question echoed in my mind, causing the memory to resurface and replay. I smiled. "Of course I do."

Suddenly, my arms went limp and I lost the ability to continue walking. I was momentarily confused, but when I lowered my eyes to the ground to see the shadow extending from Shikamaru's feet to my own, I knew exactly what was going on. He had a sly smile on his lips, and his hands were contorted into his signature hand seal. I giggled coyly as he slowly began turning toward me, therefore causing me to turn toward him as well, until we were facing each other. He lifted his hand to caress my face, and I simultaneously caressed his. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," I smiled.

He leaned forward to capture my lips in an electrifying kiss that sent such intense shivers throughout my body that my knees nearly collapsed. Just as he had done on the night of our first kiss, he released his shadow possession jutsu so that I could wrap my arms around his neck for support. He slowly walked backward until my back was against rough bark, and he then allowed his hands to explore the curves of my body until they found a spot to rest on my hips. I sighed into the kiss, my eyelids fluttering close.

Our tongues tangled as he pressed his body against mine. When I felt his hands gripping my hips to pull me closer, I couldn't help but whimper and press my lips harder against his. I could feel him smirking as I did this. Our breathing gradually became heavier, and the goose bumps on my skin began to fade away as my body temperature spiked. I placed my hand against the back of his neck to delve my tongue deeper into his mouth, and as I did this, a low groan escaped his lips.

Realizing that we were still out in public, and that Miyuki and Sasuke were in our line of vision, I quickly separated from the kiss and cleared my throat nervously. "M-Maybe we should…"

Shikamaru understood completely. He smirked, grabbed my hand in his, and in a husky growl, he simply said, "Let's go."


End file.
